


More of the same

by Debon_Levtil



Category: FluffKevlar
Genre: Cringe, F/M, Fanfiction, FluffKevlar - Freeform, Meta, POV Third Person, Rishan Galaxy - Freeform, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 164,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23443042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debon_Levtil/pseuds/Debon_Levtil
Summary: A Marine turned father struggles with his past as he fights to overcome the injuries nobody can see. A continuation if the story "Fractured Reality", this story will detail a large portion of Jack's life after the war in the Rishan and how he copes with the loss of life he has cause. Join him on his adventure through parenthood, for better or worse.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note. This will disappear when the story is finished, but this story is NOT FINISHED. It will also not be another 800+ page fan fiction and will more than likely be one of the last times I write in FluffKevlar's universe. It's not because I've lost interest, because I haven't, it's Just because I want to distance myself from fan fiction. I've been doing this for two years now and I need to expand my horizons to my own universe. A web comic might be in the near future when I get some equipment to practice on. For now, I'll continue doing this and finish off the sort of cliff hanger, sort of not cliff hanger story I put out almost five months ago. So here it is. More of the same. Also, I think the writing gets a bit more descriptive after a while, so watch out for that.

Prologue

2 weeks after the honeymoon

Jack is sitting in an old truck with a blue and white feline to his side, looking entirely uninterested in what's going on. He looks back behind him, seeing a few large U-Haul trucks following him up a dirt track, themselves being followed by a large truck with spools of wire on it. The feline looks up at him and smiles before looking out at the massive plains and fields of grass.

“Jack, what are we doing out in the middle of buttfuck nowhere?” She asks. “Also, why did you buy an entire five miles of fiber optic cable? I know you said you weren't going to settle for shitty internet again, but this is a bit much.”

“You'll see.” He replies with a smile, putting a hand on top of her head. “You'll love this.”

The flat terrain eventually gives way to a hill, Jack looking back to see if the trucks are able to cope and they're all keeping up surprisingly well. They eventually crest the hill, a stunning mountain range on display. The feline looks up from her pouting and inhales sharply.

“You like it?” He asks.

“This is so pretty.” She says. “How long are we staying here?”

“How long do you want to?” He asks in reply.

She looks back at him with surprise before smiling, pulling him into a hug.

“I love you so much!” She says with glee. “But...how much did it cost?”

“I dropped a gold bar and the guy took it.” He replies. “I'm absolutely sure he undersold it.”

“Oh...” She says, looking back at the mountain range. “Well, at least it's not that fucking suite in Hawaii. You spent WAY too much on that.”

“I spent just the right amount and you know it.” He tells her. “I'm gonna have to build a house though. All that's here are cabins.”

“There's always something.” She says, looking back at the mountains as she lets go. “Are they at least nice cabins?”

“They're more like hunting cabins.” He replies. “Don't worry, I have big plans for this place. We're going to be living here for a long time, right?”

“Right.” She tells him. “Kind of forgot about that aging thing.”

“I had someone make a couple pole barns before we came, so we can unload everything today.” He says. “How do you like it?”

“I love it.” She replies. “Do we just get the house and the land by the road?”

“Remember how I asked if you wanted to be a cowgirl?” He asks. “How you got all offended before I explained what I meant?”

“S-shut up.” She says, crossing her arms. “I got the hat, so I guess that answers that question.”

“Well, the reason why I spent an entire gold bar on this is because I bought a ranch.” He replies. “It's huge too. I think it was a few thousand acres if I remember correctly.”

“Holy shit.” She says, looking out at the plains. “All of that is ours?”

“Yep. Well, the property boundaries are weird, but that doesn't matter.” He says. “We'll probably be raising cattle here, but I have other plans for the mountainous regions.”

“Like what?” She asks.

“I'll tell you if it comes to fruition.” He replies, stopping the truck in front of the pole barns that were sat up on a hill. “Welcome home, Vikna, let's start unpacking.”

3 months later

Jack was hoisting a massive piece of roofing up onto the top of the house, looking back down to see Vikna smiling up at him with pride.

“What's up?” He asks with a smile.

“Oh, nothing.” She replies. “Just watching my big, strong man work.”

“I'm still surprised I managed to get most of it finished before winter.” He says before grunting, pulling the huge piece of metal roofing up and putting pilot nails in it. “How's the baby doing?”

“He's still coming along.” She says, looking down at a surprisingly small belly.

“Do anthros usually have such small baby bumps?” Jack asks with worry, putting more nails in the roof.

She rubs her belly and smiles, looking back at him nailing the roof on.

“It'll get a lot bigger in about a month.” She replies. “You don't need to worry about me. I'm still up and walking, aren't I?”

“You're a tough one, I'll give you that.” He says, slamming the nail gun down into the roof a few times and nailing it in place.

“I really am.” She says with a smile. “Not that I need it, but I'm gonna get a chair.”

“Oh, don't worry about that. Just sit on the grass.” He says, moving up the roof as she sits down. “I'll get you one as soon as I finish this panel. What about Zofie and Nytro? How are they doing?”

“Nytro doesn't want to talk with me after I gave him shit for not letting ARA through the portal.” She replies. “Zofie wants to come visit, but Nytro won't let her. He thinks you're going crazy.”

“Well, I am going crazy.” He tells her with a smirk. “You're the only thing holding me together right now.”

“You need to give yourself more credit, babe. You're stronger than you let on.” She says. “I can leave you for a whole day and you don't even destroy anything.”

“That doesn't help.” He tells her, slamming the nail gun down a few more times as he nails the roof in place. “Do you know where that fox went? I'm paying him by how much he's doing, not by the hour.”

“He left after you called him a lazy asshole.” She replies. “Told you to mail him his check.”

“He can get bent for leaving a job half finished.” He says, pounding the nail gun into the roof a bit harder and faster. “You know, my dad might be willing to come out and help since he got those new neural augmentations.”

“Your dad is almost seventy years old, Jack.” She says with disapproval.

“Yeah, and I was only seven when I was asked to do work on an extension to our house. He loves this kind of shit and he's a carpenter by trade.” Jack says with a smile, nailing more nails into the roof. “I'll call him up tonight and see if he wants to help, but I'm not letting him touch the wiring. He's a monkey when it comes to electrical anything.”

“Watch it.” She says with a growl.

“You know I'm joking.” He says with a chuckle.

“So am I.” She tells him, the growl turning into a purr.

“How's Fluff doing?” He asks, scooting over to the next set of nails. “Haven't heard from him in forever.”

“He doesn't really want to talk with you anymore. Now that I think of it, a lot of people want to cut contact with you. I think the only people who still want to talk to you are me, your dad, Zofie, and ARA.” She replies, looking up at the sky. “I don't know. Maybe they'll open up after a while. They were just through a war you know.”

“I bet Nytro is pissed that I'm not helping with reconstruction.” He tells her. “I've got other shit to worry about. Franklin being case in point.”

“I think you'll be a good daddy.” She says. “I know you've been a good daddy to me~.”

“Stop it you.” He says with a chuckle. “I think I turned you into a huge perv.”

“I've always been this way.” She tells him. “I prefer the term kinky.”

“Wonder how that's gonna work with Franklin around.” He says, pounding some more nails into the roof.

She rolls her eyes and continues watching him nail some more nails into the roof, smiling as she rubs her belly.

2 years later

Vikna looks on as Jack holds a laser pointer, running the dot of light across the house as her little baby scrambled after it on all fours. He's making lots of cute kitten noises as he chases the beam around, getting confused when he can't catch it. His brown tail is flicking back and forth, sitting ready to pounce as Jack wiggles the laser a bit. He leaps into the air, slamming his front paws down on the laser before trying to catch it with his hands. God he's so funny to watch.

“Get in contact with anyone today?” Jack asks, almost autonomously.

“Same answer as before.” Vikna replies. “Nobody except Zofie, your dad, and ARA want to talk.”

“Even the Emperor?” He asks.

“I'm not dignifying that question with a response.” She replies.

“Whatever you say.” He says with a smirk. “It's fine. I met a guy named Tim when I was in town. He's cool and says he was an Iran war vet.”

“Did you tell him who you were?” She asks.

“Just gave him my first name.” He replies, flicking the laser back and forth for Franklin to follow. “Little guy sure is energetic, huh?”

“Just be glad you don't have to take care of the little guy. He's walked in on me doing private things twice.” She says with a shudder.

“Well, he can't understand it, can he?” Jack asks.

“No, thank god he can't.” Vikna replies, watching him move the laser toward the couch. “Nuh uh! Don't do that!”

“Why not?” Jack asks, flicking it away from the couch last second.

“I don't want him tearing up the couch.” She replies. “Frankie, come to mommy!”

Jack turns the laser off and Franklin looks over to Vikna, seeing her calling to him. He begins purring, tail pointing straight up as he jumps up on the couch. He makes his way over to her, laying down on her lap as she begins stroking his blonde hair.

“Any nightmares last night?” She asks. “I know you get them when I can't get to bed on time.”

“No...” Jack lies.

“Jack.” She says, looking over at him.

“It's fine, don't worry about it.” He tells her. “I didn't break anything this time, if that's what you're asking.”

“Well, good.” She says. “This is going to be weird to explain in a few years when he asks why daddy is going berserk.”

“It'll be fine. Just keep him away from me and he'll be fine.” Jack tells her.

“It shouldn't have to be like this...” She says. “You shouldn't have to live like this.”

“I made my choice, Vikna.” He tells her. “It was all worth it to make the world a safer place for you and Franklin here.”

The kitten hears his name, perking up and looking over at Jack. He smiles a bit, giggling before laying back down on Vikna, continuing to purr.

“He's so cute.” Vikna says, scratching behind his ear. “I'm so glad you gave me such a cute kid.”

“It wasn't all on me.” He says, blushing and turning away.

“Oh, shut up.” She tells him with a smirk. “You gave me the perfect son.”

Jack looks back at Franklin, remembering the day he asked if he was...like him. He cried and cried when they said no, having never been happier in his entire life than at that very moment. For him, that was a triumph of its own, not passing on his debilitating condition to his son. Vikna didn't really understand, but the real reason Jack didn't want kids was because he was deathly afraid he'd give them his condition. However, Vikna managed to break that wall down enough to put him at ease. That is, until he remembered exactly why he didn't want kids in a nightmare where his son was horribly disfigured. Jack sighs gently, opening up his laptop and checking on his story he finally finished.

Vikna sees Jack typing on his laptop and sighs, knowing he was probably looking up that book he obsessed over for almost a year after they both settled in. It wasn't a best seller by any means, but it was definitely popular in the community he frequented, which was enough for him. However, she had to put a stop to a third book because it took up so much of his time. He barely had any time for her and, more importantly, Franklin. He hears her sigh and looks up, seeing her giving a disapproving look.

“Sorry.” He says, closing the laptop.

“I want you to promise me that you won't go out training anymore.” She says. “I don't like waiting seven months for my husband to get home. You're not ever going into a war again, so I don't know why you do it.”

“So I can be prepared.” He tells her.

“I'll tell you what. If you stop going over seas and training, I'll let you have sex with me in any hole for two months.” She says, giving him a sultry look. “By any hole, I mean any hole~.”

She flicks her ears a bit and Jack gives her a tired look.

“Don't be gross.” He says. “You know I'm never going to do that. Did you hear about the one horse anthro who had to have reconstructive surgery because someone tried doing that? Her ear drum popped because of the pressure and they both got an infection from it for their efforts.”

“My ears are big enough.” She says with an innocent smile.

“No, they're really not.” He replies. “I'll take your offer, but I'm still training here.”

“Just remember what Rei said before we left Hawaii. I'll stay tight and beautiful until the day I die.” She says with a smirk. “Now get upstairs and strip while I put Franklin to bed. We're doing it all night long and nobody is gonna stop us.”

5 years later

Vikna continues setting the table for three, having had time to reflect back on what's been happening since Franklin entered her life. Jack finally made time to become a rancher, raising horses and cattle, Nytro had finally opened himself back up to her, and Rei was beginning to talk with her too. Turns out he realized that he might have made a mistake when he allowed the wedding to happen, giving Jack the cold shoulder out of spite. She chose to keep this information to herself, since she didn't know what would happen if Jack knew. Either he'd leave her, or, more likely, he'd be very angry at Rei. He hates indirect anger, even though he's guilty of doing it himself.

She looks back at the GPS tracker she put on Franklin's collar, seeing him playing in the woods just out of sight of the house. He finally learned to walk after almost three years with no small amount of effort being put in by both her and Jack. He wanted to go outside all the time, which worked in her favor when she needed to relieve some stress with her husband. Even after all these years, she still couldn't get enough of that human cock of his. It drove her wild every time he would even hint at having sex, knowing that both of them would be at it for at least an hour. She hopes he was going to uphold his promise and give her the best sex she had in years. God knows she deserves it after doing all this housewife shit.

Vikna brings the meatloaf over to the table, putting it on a plate before looking back at the tracker, seeing Franklin coming out of the woods. He probably smells the food. The door opens and she sees Jack enter, hanging up his coat on the coat hanger along with his hat. His overalls were absolutely filthy, which leads to him stripping them off and tossing them in the clothes hamper by the door.

“Where's Frank?” He asks, tiredness in his voice.

“He'll be here any minute. He just got out of the woods.” She replies. “How was your day, big guy?”

“I had to chase a fucking herd of calves through the field on foot, because the ATV ran out of gas.” He replies.

“Have you been skimping on your endurance exercises?” Vikna asks with a smirk.

“I was after them at full speed for nearly an hour.” He replies. “Wait, did Nytro finally let Zofie through? I smell her meatloaf.”

“She gave me the recipe you big dick.” She says, crossing her arms. “I'm capable of cooking food too.”

“My brain isn't working right now. I need some food in my belly.” He says.

“I see you forgot the lunch I packed for you.” She tells him.

“Yeah, bite me.” He tells her.

“Maybe I will~.” She says. “You better not be too tired to fuck or I'm going to scream at you.”

Jack comes into the kitchen, pulling Vikna into a hug before kissing the top of her head.

“I love you too much to pull that shit.” He says, holding her close as she hugs him back. “I try to please my wife where I can.”

“Daddy!” Franklin yells out as little patters are heard behind both of them. “You're back!”

He lets go of Vikna and she backs up, seeing Franklin now attached to her husband. He rubs the top of the feline's head, earning a bit of a purr from the boy.

“How you doing, kiddo?” Jack asks.

“I was out playing in the woods! I played pirate today!” He says. “Argh, give me your treasure!”

Jack laughs at that, smiling down on his son.

“I chased down a calf for an hour.” He tells Franklin. “He was fast, but your dad was able to run faster.”

“Oh, I met a man on the way back. He looked really scary, but he played pirates with me, so I didn't call mommy.” He tells him, making Vikna's blood run cold.

“What did he look like?” Jack asks, getting down on the floor.

“He had horns on him and he was really white. He was like mom's tummy, but all around. He also had a really long tongue that was this long!” Franklin says, widening his arms all the way. “He also had horns and purple fluff on his tail!”

“Wait a second...” Jack says, getting up. “I know that person.”

He looks back at Vikna, who also managed to piece it together.

“Oh Franklin, where are you my little scallywag?” A familiar and pompous voice asks from the doorway.

“Coming, Captain!” Franklin replies, about to walk back to the door before Jack grabs him.

“Let daddy talk to him.” Jack says, his tone shifting drastically. “Go see mommy.”

“But-”

“I mean it Franklin.” He says sternly, the feline making his way toward Vikna.

Jack walks toward the door, teeth grit and anger boiling as he sees the familiar face of a certain twink he was hoping he'd never see again.

“My my, how you've grown.” The demon-like creature tells Jack. “How are you doing, my little Marine?”

“Why are you here, Radoslav?” Jack asks impatiently. “Why were you talking with my son?”

“Oh, that little kid was yours? That's absolutely adorable.” He says.

“Go back where you came from.” Jack says. “I don't want whatever you're selling.”

“Oh, believe me, I think you do.” He says.

“Vikna, take the kid upstairs. Keep him safe.” He tells her, making Vikna's ears fold back.

“Come on Frankie, come with mommy.” She says, worry barely contained as she leads him up the steps.

“Where are you going Kir-”

“Shut the fuck up, Radoslav.” He says. “You aren't going to antagonize my wife on my property.”

“Excuse me?” He asks, offended by Jack's rudeness.

“You heard me, short stack. Beat it. I don't give a flying fuck what you got yourself into this time.” He says. “You have no magic, no power, and no weapon of any value. I want you off my property before I send you off in a body bag.”

“Is that a threat?” He asks, gritting his teeth.

“You think that's a threat?!” Jack asks angrily, pulling out a pistol. “HOW ABOUT A FUCKING PROMISE YOU PINT SIZED PIECE OF SHIT?!”

Radoslav backs up, not expecting the violent reaction. Jack points the pistol at Radoslav, fully intent on pulling the trigger if he tries anything.

“Now now, easy there.” He says, putting his hands up.

“I'm not jumping through any more of your hoops like some fucking circus monkey, Radoslav! I'm thirty seven years old now and I'm not going to go shooting some big gorilla that's threatening your empire that I don't give a FUCK ABOUT!” He shouts angrily. “I'd sooner see your stupid fucking empire burn than help out any more of you ungrateful assholes!”

“I knew coming here alone was a terrible idea...” Radoslav says under his breath.

“God damn right it was!” Jack yells.

“What gives you the right to act like this?!” Radoslav asks.

“A GOD DAMN 1911 CHAMBERED IN FORTY FIVE AUTO!” Jack screams back. “You're standing on my land, breathing my air, and taking up my space to ask me for a god damn FAVOR!”

“How do you know what I'm going to ask?” Radoslav asks.

“Why else would you come here?! TEA TIME?!” Jack asks.

“I didn't know you were so unhinged.” Radoslav says.

“You must've missed the part where I killed THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, YOU TECHNICOLOR LIZARD!” Jack screams. “I'm on ten different kinds of pills and see a therapist every other day because of that stupid fucking war!”

“Jack...” Vikna says behind him. “Please, stop.”

He looks back and sees Franklin looking past her, hiding behind her as she looks on with fear. He turns back and Radoslav smirks.

“Get out.” Jack says. “Never return.”

“Or?” He asks.

“I'll kill you where you stand.” He replies, pointing the pistol at Radoslav's forehead.

“You'd scar your son like that?” He asks, holding the smirk.

Jack is about to reply, but then looks back at his son, shaking his head.

“No.” He replies. “What do you want?”

“Bhainen-”

“Not my problem.” He says. “Next.”

“You insolent little...” Radoslav says before sighing. “Ayn wanted to talk with you.”

“She can come here.” Jack tells him. “Next.”

“Would you stop being disrespectful?” He asks, getting annoyed.

“Doesn't feel so good, does it?” Jack asks. “Next.”

“You know I can snap my fingers and wipe out Siania and Katric, right?” He asks.

“I think you know better than that.” Jack replies. “Next.”

“That just about covers everything. This chat was fun and vilifying you in front of your son was priceless, but I have a war monger to contain.” He says. “I'll leave you to your peasantry. Ta-ta!”

Radoslav steps back a bit and turns around, Jack keeping the gun trained on him as he walks back toward the forest. When he disappears into the woods, Jack puts the pistol back in his holster before closing the door gently.

“I'm sorry I yelled. Swearing is bad and I shouldn't do it.” He says, holding his hand on the door.

“You could've just killed our friends.” Vikna says.

Jack doesn't respond, closing his eyes as he's unable to look at either of them.

“Daddy, why did you yell at the scary man?” Franklin asks. “You scared me.”

Jack feels as if someone stabbed him in the chest, those words hurting more than anything else he'd ever endured.

“I don't know if you're old enough to understand, but daddy isn't alright in the head.” Jack begins.

“Jack...”

“No, he needs to hear this.” He replies before turning around. “Daddy hurt a lot of people a long time ago. He took on monsters by being a bigger and scarier monster. Mean people who wanted nothing more than to turn our planet into a big prison. They wanted to take away your Saturday morning cartoons.”

“They wanted to take away the ninja turtles?” Franklin asks.

“Yes, and daddy had to stop them.” Jack replies, straining himself to stay under control. “I'm sorry I yelled, but that man was just as bad, if not worse than the men who wanted to take away your ninja turtles. If he ever comes near you again, you run as fast as you can. Call mommy and she'll come pick you up.”

“It's okay, daddy. Mommy told me that you can't help yelling.” He replies, making Jack close his eyes. “I'm not scared anymore.”

“I guess our plans for tonight are canceled?” Jack asks, looking at Vikna.

“No, I'm just scared for our friends.” She replies. “Frankie, go watch some TV while mommy makes some calls. Daddy needs to take his pills.”

The kitten nods, walking over to the living room as Vikna walks toward Jack. She guides him up the stairs past all the pictures, holding him gently as the both walk up to their bedroom. When inside, Jack holds Vikna close, sniffling a bit.

“I exploded. In front of Franklin.” Jack says, closing his eyes. “He saw me get angry.”

“Jack...”

“I promised.” He says.

“Jack, you know that's not your fault.” She says. “I tried to keep him upstairs, but he wanted to see what was going on.”

“I'm so sorry.” He says, feeling tears begin to well up.

Both of them stand there for what seems like hours, holding each other as Jack continues to cry silently. Vikna wraps her tail around his waist, rubbing her face against his chest as he sniffles a couple times.

“Do you want Ayn to come over? We haven't seen her in years.” Vikna says, looking up at him.

“I...I'd like that.” He replies. “Can you talk to Fluff, he won't talk to me anymore.”

“Of course. Go watch cartoons with Franklin.” She says with a smile as they both let go.

“Thanks mom.” He says, returning the smile.

“Believe me, you'll be calling me mommy all night long.” She says with a wink. “Now go on, we can eat after I'm done calling people.”

2 hours later

Jack is out in the fields again, making sure the cows are eating and getting proper amounts of water. Vikna had made some calls and Nytro was kept at bay for long enough to allow Ayn to come over. For some reason, Rei wasn't able to get a lock on the ranch, so Ayn had to hitch a ride off somebody. Vikna finally gets Jack to pick up, hearing him answer the phone.

“Hello?” He asks.

“Hey, I just called Rei and he couldn't get a lock on the ranch. Does this have to do with what you made in the barn?” She asks.

“I just turned it on a couple hours ago, so yeah.” He replies. “I don't want anything to do with the Rishan anymore. If people want to come over, that's fine, but I'm not going out and doing anything for them.”

“I understand, I was just asking a question.” She tells him. “Well, Ayn should be arriving in-”

As she says that, a knock is heard on the door.

“What?” He asks.

“I think she's here.” Vikna replies.

“Yeah, I see her. Coming back now. Love you, bye.” He tells her.

“Love you, bye.” She tells him.

She makes her way to the door, Franklin coming downstairs as he makes airplane noises. When Vikna opens the door, she's faced with the towering form of Ayn looking down at her. She smiles wide, pulling Vikna into a hug.

“Oh sweetie, I've missed you!” She says, holding Vikna there for a moment. “How long has it been? Three years?”

“It's been seven.” Vikna replies. “It's good to see you too.”

“Oh, I completely forgot about the time differences.” She says. “How's life been treating you?”

“I've been doing great.” Vikna replies.

“Ayn!” Jack yells out, causing Ayn to turn around.

“Jack!” Ayn says, letting go of Vikna and making her way to him. “How have you been, sweetie?”

“I'm good, how about you?” He asks.

“I'm doing marvelous.” She replies. “Where are all the trees?”

“I moved to the other side of the country.” He replies. “We live in Montana now.”

“Wow.” She says. “What is this place, a farm?”

“It's a ranch.” He replies. “I actually bought it pretty cheap. Guy didn't really ask questions when I dumped a gold bar on his desk and asked for the deed.”

“Well, that's good.” She says. “Mind if I come in? I'm tired from riding someone in the back of a truck for two hours.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He replies. “I'll explain the machine in a bit. I even made it out of scrap radios and an old satellite dish.”

“Ghetto.” She says, making her way back to Vikna. “Excuse me sweetie.”

Vikna nods, letting her through as Jack follows suit. When everyone is inside, Jack closes and locks the door, turning back to see Franklin running down the stairs. He's making airplane noises until he sees Ayn, stopping in his tracks.

“Mommy...” He says, holding his tail close. “There's a person in the house.”

Vikna makes her way over to Franklin, smiling gently as she pulls him into a hug.

“That's okay, she's one of mommy's friends.” She says. “She won't hurt you.”

“Oh my gosh, is he your kid?” Ayn asks, looking at Jack.

“Yes he is.” He replies with a smile.

“He's so cute!” Ayn says excitedly. “He's so...brown...”

“It was a glitch with the stabilizers.” Vikna tells her. “I took them too late and he inherited some weird latent genes Jack had. He got his eyes and half of my fur.”

“I got blonde hair by chance!” Franklin says excitedly. “Nobody knows where it came from and daddy says it makes me really special!”

Ayn mouths the words “Gene sharing” and “Zofie” as Jack shrugs, looking down at Franklin and rubbing his hair. Vikna lets go of Franklin and he runs over to Ayn, looking up at her in awe.

“You're really big.” He says.

“Thank you. You know I made your dad really big too?” She asks with a smirk.

“You can do that?!” He asks with surprise as Jack begins to blush.

“Mmhm, he was shorter than me before I...made him bigger.” She replies. “How old are you?”

“I'm seven!” He says proudly. “Daddy says he'll take me out hunting this year!”

“Inside voices.” Jack says.

“Sorry daddy.” Franklin says, looking at the ground.

“It's fine kiddo. Just remember to be quieter with guests around. Want to go play around with the VR headset?” Jack asks.

“I want to play beat saber.” He says with a smile. “I can turn it on.”

Jack nods and the kitten runs up the stairs, tail flicking back and forth excitedly as Ayn looks back at him.

“You know he'll hit puberty in about two years, right?” She asks.

“What?!” Jack asks.

“Yeah, what?” Vikna asks as well.

“It's usually between ten and eleven, but it can be as late as twelve and as early as eight.” She replies.

“That was a single case, Ayn.” Vikna replies. “He's not going to reach puberty at eight. That was a freak accident.”

“I'm just fucking with you.” She says with a smile.

Vikna scowls at her, looking up the stairs before sighing with relief.

“Don't swear in the house.” She tells Ayn. “Please, I don't want him screaming out swear words yet.”

“Oh, sorry. I'll be more careful.” She says. “Just make sure he doesn't start spraying. It stinks really bad to literally every anthro but him.”

“Gross!” Vikna says. “I'll let you two talk about nasty cat things while I go watch our baby. I really don't need to hear the birds and the bees again.”

Vikna walks upstairs, leaving Jack and Ayn downstairs.

“Uh, you want to sit down?” He asks.

“Yeah, thanks.” She replies, walking toward the couch and sitting down. “What'd you do with Radoslav? He came back all shaken up and cursing you out.”

“I...lost my cool.” He replies.

“What'd you do?” Ayn asks, looking him in the eyes.

“I pulled a forty five on him and told him to leave or I'd kill him.” He replies.

“You what?!” She asks.

“He has literally no power here.” Jack replies. “He's also the reason I turned that big machine on in my garage.”

“Is that why Rei couldn't set up a portal here?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He replies.

“Well, did you think of the repercussions of telling one of the most powerful men in the galaxy that you'd kill him?” She asks.

“I think he knows better than to...screw with me.” Jack replies. “If he so much as lays a finger on any of you, I'm still a super soldier.”

“I forgot about that.” She says. “How has your...condition been going?”

“I have nightmares unless Vikna can hold me.” He replies. “It doesn't seem to be getting better any time soon.”

“You haven't hit your kid at all, have you?” She asks.

“He's been spanked a few times by Vikna.” He replies. “I don't trust myself to touch him when he's bad.”

“You spank him?!” She asks.

“Oh, shut up.” Jack replies. “I was spanked as a kid and I turned out better than my sister did.”

“Oh, I thought she was the one who was spanked.” Ayn says.

“No, she wasn't spanked. She was only yelled at.” He says. “I know you might think we're abusing him, but there's a reason I don't allow myself to hit him. I'd break him.”

“Well, of course.” She says. “What did you go off and do after I left?”

“We had so much sex, it was unreal.” He replies. “It didn't even get boring either. It was always the best thing in the world.”

“That would be her pheromones. I'd kill to have hormones that felines have naturally. I have to use my magic to produce the same result.” Ayn says with a smirk. “You're so open about the topic too. It's kind of jarring to think you're the same Jack I left in Hawaii.”

“I don't get out much, so my filter has a few holes in it. Vikna is a huge perv now too.” He tells her.

“She's always been that way.” Ayn tells him. “In high school, she used to suck dick in the bathroom just to experience multiple loads.”

“Bullshit.” Jack says.

“Yeah, you're right. It's bullshit. You know what's not bullshit? The fact that she used to beg for more when Nytro did it with her.” Ayn tells him. “She told me she'd kill you if you chose anybody else, since she read up on human biology and found out you don't have a limit to how many times you can blow.”

“Wait, you have limits? I thought that was just a myth.” He says.

“It's very much true for the males. Nytro is a very rare exception to the rule, just like Detonayo and Twix.” She says. “In fact, I think all of Rei's boys are multishots. Wait, their dicks look just like yours too. Yeah, everything is starting to make sense now.”

“It was more a place holder than anything, if I remember correctly.” He says. “I don't really talk with him anymore.”

“Why?” She asks.

“He never wants to talk. I don't know why. I really like talking to him and I wanted to know what everyone was up to.” He replies.

“Wait, Rei said you didn't want to talk to him.” She says. “Something screwy is going on here.”

“Oh...” Jack says, looking down at the floor. “I guess he really doesn't like me anymore.”

“I'll have a talk with him when I get back.” She says. “Wait, it's been seven years. Does that mean Vikna's thirty two?”

“Yeah.” He replies.

“That means she's older than I am.” Ayn says before her eyes go wide. “Oh god, Vikna's older than me.”

“Yeah, and I'm older than Nytro.” He says. “Speaking of drawing, I've done a bit of that since I left the Rishan.”

“Oh?” She asks.

“I've been posting it online to...mixed reception. Nobody likes the fact that I draw Vikna, saying that she's married or that I obsess over her.” He tells her.

“Do you?” She asks, crossing her arms.

“No, I draw my own characters.” He replies. “Maybe once every ten drawings I'll make something with Vikna in it, thought it's more like every twenty or thirty.”

“You've made more than thirty?” She asks.

“Yeah, it's in the hundreds. Most of them are sketches and can't even touch anything Fluff does, but I do it to pass the time. Vikna banned me from writing another book until Franklin is twelve.” He replies. “She says it takes up too much time.”

“Well, it does.” Vikna says, coming down the stairs. “You can finish a drawing in about a week, but a book takes months.”

“Hey Vikna, is your kid okay?” Ayn asks.

“Yeah, he just needs to be supervised for a little bit.” She replies. “He knows better than to play anything online until he's ten.”

“What happened last time?” Ayn asks.

“He got bullied pretty badly and Jack got on to kick their asses.” She replies.

“Language.” Jack says with a smirk.

“Sorry.” Vikna tells him. “It's true though. He was playing some kind of multiplayer game and Jack absolutely crushed the entire team in a one v fifteen.”

“They called me a hacker and I just told them to get good.” He replies. “Nobody calls my little boy a faggot and gets away with it.”

Ayn laughs at that and Jack pulls out a phone, turning it on and opening up a page on the internet. He opens his art gallery and hands the phone off to Ayn. She scrolls through the art, seeing a few NSFW drawings, but they were outnumbered by more tame drawings. It was mostly of some anthro characters and a few humans doing things. She opens up one of them and sees it was some anthro feline hanging out with a human, both of them laughing and smiling. Another one was a drawing of him carrying a wounded anthro out of the line of fire, which made him try to take the phone back.

“Why is the rating so low?” She asks, holding him back with her god-like strength.

“They think it's fan fiction.” He replies, no longer struggling and more leaning on her arm. “I don't feel like telling them who I really am.”

“I keep telling him that they'll quit giving him crap, but he doesn't listen to me.” Vikna tells her. “He never listens to me though, so he just keeps getting slammed about it.”

“Well, it's a good drawing. Certainly better than you were before.” She tells him, scrolling to a different one. “When did you draw this one?”

“A few years back.” He replies, pulling himself off her arm. “It was something I had been meaning to draw for a while, all of us together at the river about five miles south.”

“Wow, that's a lot of people.” She says, smiling. “Hey, there's Vikna and I.”

“Yeah, every single one of my friends is there. It's the next best thing to a real reunion.” He tells her. “I called Fluff up, but he didn't answer.”

“Why are Nytro and Twix here? I thought you didn't like them.” She says.

“Just because they don't like me, doesn't mean I don't like them. They're good people that just don't agree with all my opinions.” He replies. “I think it's good for someone's character to have people who don't like them and disagree with them. Hardship makes the good times worth having.”

“I never thought of it like that. I guess having everyone like you kind of puts you in a bubble.” She says before getting a better look at Vikna. “Wait, did you grow your hair out?”

“Yeah, why?” She asks, smiling.

“You look so cute.” Ayn replies. “I wish you had the balls to do it when you were back in the Rishan.”

“I wasn't going against regulation just to look cute.” Vikna tells her. “I'm not in the Navy anymore, so I can do what I want.”

“So, how is Siania doing?” He asks. “Specifically the Marines who went AWOL.”

“Siania as a whole has just finished rebuilding. That anthroid settlement the jolly green giant found was put down as an official sanctuary for anthroids of all types throughout the galaxy. It was my idea, but mother said she had to take credit for publicity.” Ayn replies. “The Marines became honorary citizens. I check in on all of them every now and again. Some of them are weirdos, but most of them are very respectful. The ones who I laid were amazing. Kind of makes me wish I jumped on you when I had you in my room.”

“Believe me, I wouldn't have held a candle to those guys back then.” He tells her. “Oh, I never got to thank you for making me taller. Now nobody can really look down on me anymore.”

“What do you mean 'back then'?” She asks with a smirk. “Are you saying you've improved?”

“Well, I've been having sex with Vikna for over seven years. If I didn't improve, I'd actually be very disappointed.” He replies.

“J-Jack!” Vikna says, blushing like mad. “I told you to stop talking about this in front of people!”

“You like it and you know it.” Ayn says with a smile.

“S-stop it. I still have four more hours before I can let off any steam...” Vikna says, looking down.

“Oh, how long has it been?” Ayn asks.

“It's been about a month since either of us have done anything.” Jack replies. “I personally haven't touched myself in well over three months. Just been too busy.”

“Do you want me to watch the kid real quick while you two go and rut?” She asks. “I'm really good with kids and yours looks very well behaved.”

“You'd do that?” Vikna asks.

“Of course, sweetie.” She replies. “What are friends for?”

“O-okay. Just call up if you need us. We'll be...uh...doing stuff.” Vikna replies. “Franklin! Come down here and go play with Ayn!”

All three of them wait there for a few minutes before pattering is heard coming down the steps, an excited looking feline running up to Ayn.

“Do we get to stay outside?!” He asks excitedly.

“Until mommy and daddy are done taking a nap, sure.” She replies. “Let's get going so they can go to sleep.”

“I didn't think adults needed naps.” Franklin replies, Ayn getting up and making her way to the door.

“Oh, sometimes mommy and daddy need a nap to relieve some stress.” She says with a smile. “Have fun you two.”

“We will.” Vikna tells her. “Come on, let's go 'take a nap'.”

Jack and her both chuckle and get up, walking up the stairs hand in hand as Franklin runs after Ayn.


	2. Chapter 1: Stones unturned

8 hours later

Ayn is laying in bed, having decided to stay for a week. Franklin was lots of fun to play with, having played pirate, cowboy, and other children's games. She wanted to go into the barn and see what was inside, but Franklin protested fiercely. He said nobody was allowed in the barn but Jack. Not even Vikna was allowed to go in there, which made her even more suspicious. She had to know what was inside, if anything to let Vikna know what was going on in there. She gets out of bed, putting on her clothes before sneaking out of her room, making her way toward the door. It had a sign on it that said “STAY INDOORS!!!” in capital letters, but she was curious. When she opens the door, it's surprisingly quiet, allowing her to slip out unnoticed by anyone in the house.

She finally makes her way to the barn, seeing the massive red shelter towering above her in the full moon. When she makes it to the door, it is, of course, locked. Ayn takes a hair pin out of her clothes, taking the lock in one hand and beginning to pick the cheaply made lock. When all the pins were set, she turns it and unlocks it, pulling the lock off and sliding open the barn door. She looks around for a light switch, finding one to the right side of her. When she flicks it on, she sees...something.

Lights all over the place, both studio and amateur grade. There were canvases, cars, tools, tractors, tarps, and trinkets. She could understand why he would want to keep Franklin out, but why Vikna? Ayn presses forward into the barn, setting the lock in her pocket before making her way to the work bench. There was an old rifle sitting on it, half put together with pieces strewn about the place. Next to the work bench was a half finished drawing of a river, drawn out, but not colored in yet. There was a massive area of the barn that was sealed off by walls and a door, a sign above it saying “Lest I forget” in bold letters. She continues looking around, seeing the same flag he carried with him everywhere in the Rishan hanging above the barn door, lights being strung across the ceiling as more paintings lined the walls. Her eyes laid to rest at the sealed off room, a smile coming over her lips. It was probably just war memorabilia.

Ayn makes her way toward the door, pulling out the hair pin again and inserting it into the lock. There were only three pins in this one, making it much easier to unlock than the padlock was. When she opens the door, she can see a glass case and a white screen at the end of the room as she looks for a light switch. She finds it and turns the lights on, seeing more pictures lining the walls and a single chair sitting in front of the screen. The pictures were Jack standing over multiple people, most of whom had gruesome wounds that were definitely fatal. Whatever, she'd seen worse. Ayn looks back, seeing a projector hooked up haphazardly to an older model holo-screen. She turns it on, seeing some memory files have been saved to the screen. She plays an older memory, seeing Jack running over obstacles and crawling through mud.

“YOU POKE YOUR HEAD UP, YOU WILL BE SHOT!” A man screams over gun fire, causing Ayn to turn it down. “THESE ARE LIVE ROUNDS!”

Jack continues crawling along the ground with his rifle in front of him, falling way behind the others as he coaxes everyone through the course. Some men were screaming and some men were crying, unable to move as he pulls them along. Men tried to poke their heads up, but Jack kept them down as he continued moving through the obstacle. The wire begins rattling hard and he looks back, seeing a man managing to squeeze through the wires. He reaches his hand out, but he's too late, the man gets turned into Swiss cheese by the machine gunner.

“CEASE FIRE!” The screaming man...uh, screams. “CEASE FIRE ON THE LINE!”

Jack sits their hyperventilating and panicking as he watches the man go limp on the barbed wire.

“You stupid MOTHER FUCKER!” The drill sergeant screams out angrily. “I TOLD YOU TO STAY DOWN!”

The memory ends and the next one begins playing automatically. He's cleaning his weapon in some kind of building, humming away the entire time. A man in a very odd looking hat power walks his way over to Jack, looking extremely angry at him.

“What are you humming Private?!” The man asks angrily.

“Marine Corps hymn, sir!” He replies.

“We don't hum the Marine Corps hymn, we SING IT!” He screams out. “CAN YOU SING, PRIVATE?!”

“Yes, sir!” He replies.

“Sing the Marine Corps hymn for me, Marine!” He says in a slightly quieter tone.

“From the halls of Montezuma-”

“I DON'T THINK YOU'RE A MARINE YET, PRIVATE! GET ON THE FLOOR AND GIVE ME TWENTY!” The angry man screams.

The memory ends and Ayn doesn't wonder why he's such an aggressive fighter anymore. He got yelled at for a simple misunderstanding. The next one playing is of him sitting on a chair behind a wall, the machine gun he used being present as he scans the horizon.

“Haigs, the fuck are you doing sitting in that chair?” A man asks behind him.

“The fuck is your problem?” He asks, turning around to see a man making his way up a wood plank. “Does this seat have your name on it?”

“That's Alpha squad's seat, devil dog.” He says. “You're Bravo squad. Make your own damn seat.”

“I would if you didn't use all the fucking wood we aren't using to make shitters.” Jack replies. “Go get some shut eye already. I'm on post.”

“You're about to be on the ground if you don't get out of my seat.” The man replies, making Jack stand up.

“You come up here and I'll beat you to death with this gun.” Jack says coolly. “I don't do hand to hand.”

“Fucking violent ass boots.” The man says, turning around. “Gonna kick your ass when you-”

The memory ends there and Ayn chuckles, wondering what that was doing in there.

2 hours later

Jack is thrown awake by the feeling of Vikna leaving his arms, making him look down and see her staring back at him.

“I couldn't help it. I had to move because your arm was crushing me.” She tells him.

“Well, I might as well go check on Ayn. She's probably not asleep yet.” He says.

“How do you know?” Vikna asks.

“She wasn't able to sleep in Hawaii.” He replies. “She's probably tossing and turning right now. I've got some Nyquil in the closet to help her sleep.”

She nods, laying back down in the bed and pulling the covers over her head. Jack gets out of bed, stepping on the floor and making his way toward the bathroom. He opens the door, grabbing the Nyquil he had set out just for this occasion. When he makes his way down the stairs, he notices the door to her room is open wide. Maybe she was warm and wanted some cool air? When he makes it to the room, he looks inside and sees Ayn isn't there. No, she couldn't have. He looks back at the door and sees it's unlocked. He looks out the window and sees the barn is open, the lights being on as well. He sighs, walking over to the door and putting on his boots. Vikna makes herself known by clearing her throat.

“What's going on?” She asks quietly.

“Ayn's in the barn. Don't come down here please.” He replies. “I need to talk to her alone.”

Vikna nods, making her way back to the bedroom as Jack makes his way out of the house, closing the door behind him. He makes the journey to the barn at a sluggish pace, still sort of groggy after having woken up. When he makes it to the barn, he sees Ayn has clearly picked the locks on both his padlock and door to his remembrance room. He makes his way into the barn, walking past the cars and tractors before reaching the remembrance room. He makes his way up to the holo-screen, pausing the video as Ayn cocks her head.

“What?” She asks. “How?”

“Why are you in here?” Jack asks in reply.

“Fuck.” Is all Ayn says.

“That's not a valid answer. Why'd you invade my privacy like this?” He asks. “I keep this place off limits so I can have some place to go in private.”

“I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to see what you were hiding in your barn. I didn't know if you went crazy and started butchering people in your barn or something.” She replies. “I needed to know.”

“That's absolutely none of your concern.” He tells her. “I invited you over to talk and see the sights, not investigate what I do in my free time.”

“Well, do you murder people?” She asks, turning back to him.

“No. I haven't left this ranch in almost five years.” He replies. “Still, you don't need to worry about what I do in my spare time.”

“Why are you keeping these a secret from everyone?” She asks. “These memories are really fun to watch.”

“Then you haven't gone far enough. Let's keep it that way.” He tells her, turning off the holo-screen.

“You're different.” She says, getting up from the chair. “I don't like the way you've changed. Your personality seems fake and forced.”

“I'm sorry, but the last time I tried to vent to you about this kind of thing, I went into a coma for two weeks.” He tells her. “I have to put on a face every single day, just so my son and wife stay happy and safe. I have had to battle monsters both in my mind and on this ranch. I've gone to jail twice because I couldn't keep my cool and I'm sick and tired of telling people about all the shit I did seven years ago. I've honestly had it with being myself and am putting on a face for Vikna and Franklin.”

“Are you seeing a therapist?” She asks.

“I am, but it doesn't work. No matter how much I want to be fixed, it doesn't help as much as it would anyone else.” He replies. “Miracle ships are all gone on a voyage to other star systems, so no advanced medical care from them. Now I do online visits, since traffic makes me angry.”

“Are you saying you didn't reverse engineer any of the ships we sent you?” She asks.

“We don't have the kind of technology and discipline to dissect those ships. They're completely beyond our understanding of physics and seem to work off of bullshit that isn't possible. They were so desperate, they brought Fluff and I up to try and explain it and he had to techno babble his way out of the conversation.” He replies. “So, no.”

“God, you seriously need to talk to Vikna about this.” She says, getting back on track.

“She knows and there's nothing more she can do.” He tells her. “The only reason I'm still as put together as I am is because she's there for me. I refuse to ask any more of her. Go back to the house and take this. It'll help you sleep.”

He hands her a bottle of Nyquil and she takes it, looking it over and sighing.

“You know Bhainen escaped prison, right?” She asks.

“Literally none of my concern.” He replies. “I have a kid and a wife now. If a quarter of the galaxy can't handle one man, then I have no hope for any of you. We already did this once and I'm not doing it again.”

Ayn is about to say something back, but he gives her a look that silences her. They both walk out of the garage, turning lights off as they go before Jack closes the barn door. When it's closed, he puts a more expensive padlock on the barn. The keyhole was way too small for Ayn to fit her hair pin in and the key looked way different than anything she'd ever seen before.

“I'm going to sleep and I want you to forget this ever happened. We go back to the way things were and this all becomes a fever dream.” He says. “I'll forget about all this and wake up tomorrow. I can take you to the mountains and we can go on a hike, ride bikes, watch the cattle, do literally anything except talk about this more.”

“I understand.” She tells him.

He nods, making his way back to the house with Ayn.

6 hours later

Jack wakes up gently, feeling the sun shining in from the window as he stretches himself out. His joints pop as he stretches, feeling a wave of relief wash over him when he sits up. His eyes begin adjusting to the light, looking around as he tries to find Vikna. Her part of the bed is empty and he looks down at the clock, seeing it was 7:37 AM. Usually she wakes him up at 7, if not 7:30. He doesn't smell any breakfast being made, which is starting to make him worry, but he pushes it to the back of his mind. He gets up, putting on his morning robe and slippers as he exits the bedroom, ready to say good morning to his wife. When he makes his way down the stairs, he looks into the kitchen and sees nobody in it, which was starting to make him freak out.

“Vikna?” He asks, walking back to Ayn's room and seeing the jackal is still sleeping.

Vikna isn't inside and he makes his way back upstairs, opening the door to Franklin's room. He's just starting to get out of bed, Vikna not being anywhere in sight.

“Good morning daddy.” He says, stretching a bit before rubbing his eyes.

“Morning kiddo.” Jack tells him, making his way down the hall and toward the bathroom upstairs.

He opens the door and the air is bone dry, nobody having used the shower or bath this morning. He continues down the hall, opening the door to his office and seeing nobody inside it. He makes his way back down the hall and Franklin giggles at him rushing around.

“Brush your teeth bud. I need to find mommy.” He tells Franklin. “Vikna?!”

He rushes back down the stairs and makes his way to the door, seeing it's unlocked. She must've gone outside.

“Jack?” Ayn asks behind you. “What's going on?”

“Vikna's not here.” He replies. “Did she say where she was going?”

“She said she went out.” Ayn replies. “Heard something that sounded like something rolling along the floor, but didn't think anything of it.”

“What did you tell her?” He asks.

“I told her Bhainen was loose and she went back upstairs to sleep with you.” She replies.

Jack looks over to the pole barn and sees one of the doors was open, the Tesla having been taken from what he can see. He makes his way back inside, gritting his teeth as he goes upstairs. Franklin smiles until he sees the face his dad is making, stepping out of the way as he enters his room. He throws open the closet, seeing some of her clothes are missing.

“Franklin, pack your bags!” Jack yells, grabbing some clothes from the back of the closet. “Daddy is taking us on a trip!”

“YAY!” Franklin yells excitedly, pattering back to his room as Jack throws off his robe.

He begins putting on the oddly colored clothing, the tan, black, and green garment fitting him like a glove as he pulls the pants up. When he finishes putting on the blouse, he grabs a new helmet, a set of headphones adorning the side and an IR beacon sitting on top as he straps it to his head. Jack grabs the boots from the closet, putting on his socks and stepping into the boots as he hears the little rollers of Franklin's suitcase coming down the hall. As Jack finishes putting on his boots, the little feline rolls around with two suitcases packed and ready to go.

“What are you wearing?” He asks, looking up at his father in confusion.

“Son, did mommy ever tell you what daddy did before we got married?” Jack asks in return.

“Mommy said you were a police man!” He says with a smile.

“Daddy was a Marine.” He corrects. “We're like soldiers, but better.”

“Really?” Franklin asks.

“Really.” Jack replies, grabbing a plate carrier from his closet before grabbing a smaller Kevlar vest. “Daddy needs you to wear this and a helmet, okay?”

“Wow, what is it?” He asks.

“It's a Kevlar vest I bought for you.” Jack replies with a smile, putting on his own high speed looking armor. “It protects you from bullets and I specially modified this one myself. It keeps you safe from anything you can be shot with.”

“Wow!” He says excitedly, eyes wide with wonder. “Thank you, daddy!”

“You're welcome, kiddo.” Jack says with a smile, setting it on the bed. “Now, where is that helmet?”

He digs around inside, finding a small helmet that was sized just about perfectly for his son's head, a couple holes cut in the top and shaped to fit ears as well. He hands it to his son and he looks it it with excitement, putting it on top of his head.

“It fits!” He says with a giggle. “Can you tie it on for me?”

“You just use that clip right there on the helmet and fit the two sides together. Tighten the straps until the helmet can't move freely.” Jack says, grabbing the vest and making his way over to Franklin. “Right arm out.”

He puts his right arm out and Jack opens up the Kevlar vest, putting it around his son as he tightens down the straps.

“Take a deep breath.” He says, Franklin following his order.

He tightens the vest up until he feels it's snug, Franklin letting out the breath as he pats the hard plate on the front.

“There, now all your important bits are protected.” He says, tightening the straps on his helmet. “Now your helmet won't fall off either.”

Jack makes his way back to the closet, grabbing a large rifle and bayonet from the back of the closet, along with a bandoleer of ammo. He slings it around his shoulder as he looks back inside, grabbing a large bag from inside the closet.

“Franklin, I don't know how long we're going to be gone, but you're going to be staying in a very special place. It's full of anthros just like you and all of them seem to like daddy.” He says, grabbing a very tacticool looking rifle and a big container of ammo. “The top of it is even in space.”

“Wow!” He says, grabbing his suitcase. “When are we going?”

“Right now.” Jack replies, grabbing his pistol from a drawer and shoving it in the chest holster. “Ayn! Get over to the barn!”

“Why?!” She asks.

“We're going back to the Rishan!” He yells back as Franklin runs out of the room and down the stairs.

Jack makes his way out the door and he comes to the stairs, Ayn looking out the now open front door. She sees Franklin running down the lawn toward the massive red barn, looking back at Jack before her ears fold back.

“What are you doing?” She asks.

“I'm going to pay my wife a visit. Get to the barn.” He replies.

“Why are you all kitted up?” She asks.

“I have a feeling I'm going to be there a while. Okay Dolan, prep house for hibernation!” He replies.

“Okay, prepping house for hibernation.” A computerized voice replies. “Anything else?”

“Arm security system. Direct police line.” He replies. “Inform Mike that I'm going to be gone for a while.”

“Okay, anything else?” The voice asks.

“No thanks.” He replies, looking back at Ayn. “Let's go, I'm going to town for something to eat and then I'll call Fluff. I've got some things to say to him.”

“Jack...” She says before sighing. “Fine. Let me talk to him.”

Jack nods before exiting the house, rifle in hand as he makes his way to the garage. Ayn isn't far behind, seeing him take out his keys and step up to the barn door. Franklin was ecstatic as Ayn watches him insert the key, the lock dropping and being removed before he opens the barn door. He makes his way inside, walking up to the mustang and unlocking the car. When he opens it up, he folds the seat up and points to the back.

“Get in the back, Franklin. I'll take your suit cases.” He says, walking over to some switches. “Ayn, get in the other side. I need to switch off the wormhole disruptor.”

He throws a switch and electricity arcs across the barn from a machine at the back, a loud whine being heard as it powers down.

“Daddy, what's that?!” Franklin asks excitedly, pointing to a massive suit of armor laying limp on a rack.

“That's something daddy was gifted.” Jack replies. “It's just a costume.”

“That looks really cool!” He says with a smile, Jack picking up the suitcases and heading to the trunk.

He opens the massive trunk, throwing the suitcases and his bag in the back, slamming the trunk closed as it shakes the trunk. How could she go off to the Rishan without him? She promised not to go back, just like he promised not to reenlist when his time was up. When he sits down inside the car, he slams the door closed, sticking the key in the ignition.

“Are you okay?” Ayn asks.

“I'm scared she's going to hurt herself.” He replies, turning the ignition on before starting the car.

The engine roars to life as Franklin laughs excitedly.

“This car is so cool!” He yells over the engine.

Jack smiles, shifting into first and letting the car idle out of the garage. When he made it out a ways, he floors the engine, kicking up grass and dirt as the car power slides onto the gravel driveway. The massive and heavy car barrels down the road at high speed, every bump being felt as Ayn holds on for dear life. He shifts hard into second, the engine screaming out across the fields as he goes over a hill, tires leaving the ground momentarily.

“SLOW DOWN!” Ayn yells.

“Just let me drive fast for once!” He shouts back.

The car slams back into the ground and a turn comes up, Jack kicking out the rear as he power slides along the corner at almost 70 miles an hour. Franklin is having the time of his life, being pushed up against the other side of the seats as Jack straightens out, merging onto the highway. He shifts into third, the engine roaring as he gets onto the highway.

“Call Fluff!” He yells. “Right now!”

Jack shifts into overdrive and the car quiets down considerably, sitting comfortably at 90 miles an hour. Ayn pulls out her phone and dials the familiar blue bird's number, getting an answer within seconds.

“Hello?” The man asks.

“Hi Rei, I'm traveling down the highway right now. Jack got mad that I told Vikna about Bhainen, so he wanted me to go. Can you open up a portal for me?” She asks.

“Uh, sure.” He replies. “And, done. Did he turn off the jammer?”

“He did. He said he doesn't care anymore and that he just wants everything to end.” She replies, giving him a wink.

“Is whoever's driving you okay with going through too?” He asks.

“She's very okay with it~.” Ayn replies, giving Jack a sultry look that makes him shiver a bit.

“She? Nice.” He says cheerfully. “Well, I'm opening a portal about a mile outside of the palace. Have fun with her.”

“Thanks, buh bye.” Ayn says, closing the call. “Slow down or you're going to slam into something, you drama queen.”

He nods, slowing the car down as a large portal appears in the middle of the road. The car comes through, the road being completely clear as most of the traffic is floating above them. Jack smiles, looking up at the massive palace as he slows down even further. Ayn looks back at Franklin, who's looking around at everything with wonder in his eyes.

“There's people who look like you out there, Ayn!” He yells with a smile. “There's people who look like me too!”

“Yep, lots of anthros.” Ayn says as nearly everyone looks at the strange car rolling down the road. “You probably won't be staying here long. There's a whole new planet that you need to go to.”

“Planet? Are we going to space?!” He asks, about to burst from excitement.

“Yep. You're gonna be a spaceman.” Jack replies with a smile. “Let's go to the palace first. There's some people I want to see who I haven't seen in over seven years.”

As soon as they get within a quarter mile of the palace, Jack slows down and rolls up to the gate, men readying weapons as he makes his way to the booth. When he rolls the window down, a young man looks down at him with barely hidden disgust.

“Sir, we got a human in a car that smells like shit.” The young jackal says, looking back at the guard booth.

“Really?” The man inside the booth says, making his way out of the booth before looking into the car. “Well, who do we...oh...OH! OH SHIT!”

The jackal pops off a salute and Jack chuckles at that.

“I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you, sir! Oh god, it's princess Ayn too!” He says with rigid composure. “Princess, I'm so sorry for my subordinate's rudeness!”

“You know I don't care Feli.” She tells him. “Just let us in and all is forgiven.”

“Y-yes your highness.” He replies. “Open the gate, Jude!”

“R-right away, sir.” Jude says, the field in front of the car lowering before dissipating.

“Oh and, uh, don't swear in front of my kid.” Jack says. “Thanks.”

“N-no problem, sir.” The jackal says.

Jack lets the car idle forward, making it inside the gate as he looks over at Ayn. She chuckles a bit and looks back toward the entrance to the palace, Jack finding a parking space next to two smooth and fluid looking hover cars. When he stops in the parking space, he turns the car off and opens the door, seeing a few people exiting the entrance to the palace. Jack pulls the seat back and Franklin gets out, running around the parking lot for a bit as the three people get closer. When the three people get close enough for Jack to make them out, he sees what he thinks is Symat, Kesis, and...someone else.

“Is that who I think it is?!” Kesis asks cheerfully.

“In the flesh!” Jack replies with a smile. “I came for a visit!”

Kesis picks up the pace a bit, going into a slight jog as Jack sees the person he thought was Symat was actually Sabir. When the queen comes up to Jack, she gives him a slight hug, letting go and looking up at him with a smile.

“My, you've gotten much older.” She says. “I'd have to say it's been about six to eight years judging by the small wrinkles and the few grey eyebrow hairs.”

“It's been over seven years.” He tells her with a smile.

“Hi, miss!” A very excited Franklin says behind the two, causing Kesis to turn around.

“Now who are you?” She asks with a smile, squatting down to meet the small feline.

“I'm Franklin!” He replies.

“He's my son.” Jack adds.

“Oh my gosh, he's so cute!” Kesis says, pinching his cheeks a bit as he begins to purr. “Stabilizers and fertility medication really are a miracle. Wait a second, why does he have a helmet and a vest on?”

“Ayn made it sound like Bhainen was on a war path.” He replies. “I thought I was going to be driving into a war zone or some hellscape.”

“She's such a drama queen.” She says, rolling her eyes. “Bhainen hasn't done anything since he escaped last month. Every single planet in the galaxy has been on high alert and Radoslav has a three billion credit bounty on his head.”

“Holy cow, look at you, son.” Sabir says, prompting Jack to look back at the man. “How have you and the misses been getting along?”

“Good. She ran back to Katric because Ayn told her Bhainen was loose, but I'm reigning her back in.” He replies. “You lost a few pounds.”

“Well, my wife has been getting after me to start eating right. Says I'll have a heart attack if I kept eating and drinking the way I was.” He replies. “Thanks for noticing.”

“Oh, hello. I don't think we've met before mister Gunnery Sergeant.” The other man says. “My name is Lidal.”

“Do people around here just know me as Gunnery Sergeant?” Jack asks. “Oh, sorry, name's Jackson, but you can call me Jack if you want. Haven't been out of the house in a few years.”

“Has she kept you locked in some kind of dungeon?” Sabir asks with a smirk.

“Well, it's more to keep myself out of trouble. I've been to jail twice for...things.” Jack replies.

“Oh, that's right. The war happened.” He says with an awkward laugh. “Sorry about that, don't mean to bring back bad memories.”

“It's fine. I don't hear any explosions or gunshots yet, so I think I'll be fine.” Jack says with a smile. “No need to walk on egg shells.”

Jack turns back to Lidal, looking him over and seeing he was much taller than anyone else. He stood a good 4 inches above Jack, which was surprising, since he was used to be taller than literally everybody else. Ayn makes her way over to the massive jackal, smiling gently as she pulls him into a hug.

“Wait a second...” Jack says. “Is he...”

“Yep, for almost a year now.” Ayn replies. “You should see him in bed. He's a monster.”

“P-princess...” Lidal says, a blush beginning to form. “Please, I'm not that good.”

“Both of you, stop this talk at once. There's a child present. Something you both have yet to produce.” Kesis says, cupping her hands over Franklin's ears. “How can two of the most fertile beings in the known galaxy not produce a single child?”

“Does he turn into a monster when he sleeps?” Franklin asks.

“Oh my god, he's so innocent.” Ayn says with a smile. “Make sure to give him the talk when you start smelling him next year.”

“Ayn, don't make me spank you.” Kesis says, looking up at her. “You're never too old to be spanked by mama.”

Ayn blushes at that and Sabir chuckles.

“Don't do that sweetie. She'd only get turned on.” He says, making Ayn blush even more. “So, how about we all head inside. I don't think mister tactical here has seen our home.”

“Hopefully it's more coherent than the maze back on Serko.” Jack says, following Sabir as he turns around, beginning to walk behind him.

“We put signs up just for you.” He says with a smile. “Nobody is going to beat you down this time.”

As the group makes it to the door, a blue guard bows before stopping everyone, checking over Jack before pointing to the pistol.

“Sorry, sir. No firearms in the palace outside of authorized blue guard.” He says, reaching for the gun.

Jack grabs his hand firmly, pushing it away from the holster before letting go.

“You touch my fucking piece and shove it so far up your ass, you'll be speaking in three fifty seven SIG.” Jack tells him. “Am I clear, sweetheart?”

“Well, I guess I could make an exception for you. After all, you did save the entire queendom from complete destruction.” He says, backing off.

“Tell your goons the gospel too. I'm not going to be harassed by every man in a suit of armor when I don't plan on staying more than a day.” He says.

“Alright, jeez.” The blue guard says, getting on a radio as everyone moves through the gate.

“Were you always so rude to my guards?” Kesis asks.

“He's working through some things, mom.” Ayn explains. “He'll probably be making full use of the palace therapist. Isn't that right, Jack?”

“If I'm here long enough, sure.” He replies.

When the group reaches the end of the hallway, Kesis makes her way to the front of everyone, smiling from ear to ear. The gates are opened up to an absolutely massive entryway, a huge staircase and statues of the current family alongside some paintings of previous rulers Jack remembered from the other palace. Franklin gasps at the scale of the room, having never seen something so grand in his entire life.

“I'm so glad that you decided to visit. I've been dying to show you the palace, but you were understandably eager to go back home.” She says with a smile. “At just about every corner, you'll find a sign with a keypad on it. Just type in where you want to go and it'll direct you there. It's locked to your neural implant, so it can't be tampered with if you're getting chased by some very angry people.”

“Why do they keep saying that?” Lidal asks.

“I dissed a bunch of blue guard recruits for not being able to do jumping jacks and they nearly beat me to death. I think most of them are still in jail.” Jack replies.

“I was going to do unspeakable things to you, but I don't think my husband would've approved. Not to mention there was no amount of blue guard in the world that could have kept me safe from his wife's wrath.” Kesis says, earning a quizzical look from Sabir. “I'm joking, darling. I was done with that the moment he freed me from that brain wave manipulator.”

He nods and they all make their way up the stairs, beginning the tour of the palace.

14 hours later

Jack is driving down the mostly barren road toward the Tower, having landed nearly an hour ago. He had already seen most of the palace already on Serko, not really needing a tour. He just wanted to get going as soon as possible, so he booked a ticket with the money he had left over from all those years ago. He was playing some 8 tracks on the player as him and his son roll down the road, passed by what he guessed were supposed to be motorcycles. The best part about all of this was he could go as fast as he wanted, no signs being present as he had automatic right of way. He was playing some old boomer song on the 8 track from an equally boomer band, his son just excited to be going this fast.

“Whoa, is that the Tower?” Franklin asks.

“Yep, it goes all the way into space.” Jack replies. “We're going all the way to the top after we see mommy.”

“Is this where mommy lived?” Franklin asks.

“Yep, she lived in...that apartment building right there.” He says, pointing to a building before flying by at nearly 130 miles an hour.

The engine is purring like a kitten, the body staying planted on the road and being surprisingly easy to drive at speeds this high. Guess Shelby really did have his head on straight about this kind of car. When he reaches within a mile of the Tower parking space, he begins slowing the car down, causing Franklin to whine. The car slows down just before the turnoff, Jack making the turn into the parking space before stopping on one of the pads. When he gets out, a fox is already running his way over to the car.

“Sir, would you like me to...pilot...your car...” He says, stopping before Jack. “I...I don't know how to drive that...”

“Go find someone who can. I don't want you learning to drive on something with next to no safety features.” Jack says with a smile. “Come on buddy, let's go see mommy!”

Franklin giggles and Jack makes his way to the trunk, opening it and grabbing all his things. He hefts Franklin's bags out of the back and sets them on the ground, the little feline grabbing them giddily as the fox looks at the guns.

“Uh, sir, you can't-”

“Check my implant.” Jack interrupts. “I'm absolutely sure I'm authorized to bring weapons into the Tower.”

The fox opens a holographic screen and looks him over, the translator in Jack's eye booting to life and translating it to O-9 EQ.

“S-sorry, sir.” The fox says. “I just didn't know.”

“We'll be on our way. Have a nice day, son.” Jack tells the man. “Let's go Frankie.”

1 hour later

Jack finally stops on the deck he's most familiar with. He used to spend lots and lots of time here when he was around. If she was going to be anywhere, it would be on the AI deck. As he makes his way through the halls, a few anthroids make their way across the halls, paying them no mind as the human and feline make their way down the hall.

“Daddy, why do all of these people have arrows on them?” Franklin asks.

“That's because they're anthroids. They're like robots, but they look like people and act like people.” Jack replies. “Some of them even have families.”

“That's so cool!” He says excitedly, running up to a feline anthroid. “Are you a robot?”

“Hmm?” The anthroid asks, looking down at the feline. “Oh, I don't know how you got up here little one, but you're not authorized to be here.”

“He's with me.” Jack says, prompting the feline to look up.

“Oh my...” She says, blushing a bit as she looks up at him. “You're him, aren't you?”

“Yeah, don't mind my son. He doesn't know any better.” He replies. “Do you know where Vikna Ramenskaya is?”

“Oh, she's on the main AI deck.” The anthroid replies. “Now, I must go. Mister Salisburn will be very upset if I don't give him his...oral...report.”

Jack backs away a bit, pulling Franklin back away from the anthroid as she continues on to a room, both of the boys continuing down the hallway. When they reach the end, a massive set of doors open, a large control room being present as very familiar faces are present inside the control room.

“Warning, do you know where Vale went off to?” A familiar red, white, and black anthroid asks. “Miss Vikna is trying to plot something.”

“This unit has no clue.” The short, black, and yellow anthroid replies.

“He said he was out for lunch.” A taller white and blueish purple Kleyka answers. “Why he chooses to use his breaks for lunch, I have no idea.”

“Can all of you shut up for a second. I'm trying to plot together these FTL disturbances.” A very familiar blue and white feline says from a large circular table.

“Mommy!” Franklin yells, running across the floor and attracting everyone's attention.

“Alert! Unauthorized organic present on the bridge!” Warning yells out as she tracks the feline, Vikna turning around so fast that she slams her tail into the console.

“Oh my gosh, Franklin!” She says with a forced smile. “How'd you get here?”

“Daddy took me through a portal!” He replies.

“Wait, what are you wearing?” She asks, looking him over as he holds his arms out to be held. “You know you're too old to be held. Stop doing that.”

“Daddy said he was scared we were going into a war!” Franklin says, prompting Vikna to look up at him as her ears fold down.

“Franklin, Warning, go outside for a second. Watch the kid for me.” He says, the bite sized anthroid not questioning his order. “My wife and I are going to have a chat.”

“Come along Franklin. This unit does not usually get to talk with children. She thinks it is enjoyable!” Warning says with a smile. “You are just as tall as this unit is.”

The two leave the control room, leaving Vikna and Jack together in the room. He makes his way over to her, struggling to keep his cool.

“Y-you have to understand.” She says.

“You left me.” He says. “You left our son.”

“Jack...”

“Don't Jack me.” He says, now standing right in front of her. “I have so much to say to you right now...but I'm just happy you're okay.”

He pulls her into a hug, which she returns apprehensively. After a while, she melts into it, purring as her tail flicks back and forth happily.

“Did you have any nightmares last night?” She asks.

“I told Franklin to handcuff me to the bed.” He replies. “I did, but I couldn't do anything but shout.”

“I should've told you.” She says. “I'm just hunting Bhainen right now. Nobody's actually at war and he hasn't done anything yet.”

“Yet.” Jack repeats. “Please, just come home.”

“Blue, I found one of your bots gorging himself on-” A familiar voice calls out before stopping. “Wait a second...”

Jack lets go and turns around, seeing Nytro staring back before scowling.

“You.” He says with more than just moderate disdain. “Come to fuck up our search for Bhainen too?”

“I don't need any of your bitching, Nytro.” Jack tells him. “I'm not letting you assholes take my wife from me so you can relive old times.”

“This is about something bigger than 'reliving old times', you fucking psycho.” He tells Jack. “We have to find this bastard before he blows up half the galaxy.”

“That sounds like a 'you' problem, not an 'us' problem.” Jack says. “I've got a family to look after and I'm done fighting wars.”

“Then what's with the getup?” Nytro asks accusingly.

“Purely for my own protection.” Jack replies. “Same with my kid. Ayn made it sound like Bhainen was out destroying planets for fun.”

“He will be if we can't find him. Now go back to your little hick town and take care of your kid. The only thing you're good for now is beating people and going to jail.” Nytro says.

“I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THAT BETWEEN US!” Vikna screams angrily. “I trusted you!”

“I trusted you to stay here and help rebuild!” Nytro yells back. “But no, you went off and had a kid because you don't care anymore! What happened to doing your duty?!”

“I'm doing my duty!” She yells back. “I just-”

“You're trying to leave a job half finished! That's what you're doing!” Nytro interrupts. “We need to organize a PROPER defense!”

“You know what? Fuck you.” Vikna says. “Go fuck yourself with a vibroblade. I'm going home and cooking breakfast for my son, like I should've. I like my simple life and getting caught up in galactic affairs again is fucking stupid. After all the shit we did for you and you still want more? I think you're a whiner who just wants more and more.”

“That's rich coming from the cumslut who rode me every day of the week whenever I came to visit.” Nytro shoots back. “Did you know she only likes you because you can blow more than one load a day?”

“Y-you fucking...I'll strangle the life out of you-”

“Nytro, how long have you been up?” Jack asks, interrupting Vikna.

“Three days.” He replies.

“When was the last time you got your dick sucked?” Jack continues.

“W-wha-”

“How long?” Jack repeats

“D-dude, I-”

“How. Long.” He repeats with more force.

“N-nine days ago...” He says, looking at the floor.

“Go get your dick sucked and get some sleep.” Jack tells him. “Warning is two lines of code and a BIOS update from being at your beck and call. I'm getting too old for this shit and I'm sure you're getting up there too.”

“I'm only thirty two, asshole.” He says, crossing his arms.

“And I'm thirty seven.” Jack adds. “Those two things I said. Do them now. I don't need you snapping and screaming at someone again.”

“The only one who deserves a good screaming is you!” Nytro yells out.

Vikna pokes his ass a few times and flicks her ears, motioning for him to follow her. Jack nods and makes his way down from the holographic map area, walking toward the door as Nytro gets in his way.

“Where do you think you're going?” He asks.

“You wanted me to leave, didn't you?” Jack asks in reply.

“I want YOU to leave. Not her.” He replies.

“You're not the boss of me and never will be.” She tells him. “I really don't want any part in this. There are other things I need to take care of that aren't this.”

“Do you not care about your planet anymore?” Nytro asks, pointing down at the ground. “Do you not care about your dad, your friends, the people who cared about you through thick and thin?”

“I already traced the path Bhainen took and I predicted he was making his way to Sgela Alo. Intercept him there and put him back in prison.” She replies. “I care about you, believe me. I just have other priorities right now, such as raising a son. If Katric was in immediate danger, I'd stay, but it's not.”

“He's just going to escape again!” Nytro yells. “We need you to stay here, Blue!”

“Out of the way home boy.” Jack tells him. “We're leaving now.”

“I'm not letting her leave!” Nytro says, standing firm.

“Your first mistake.” Jack says, grabbing Nytro by the neck and throwing him to the floor. “Was letting me get close. Your second mistake was letting me restrain your legs.”

Nytro is surprised by Jack's speed and aggressiveness, having been caught completely off guard.

“Your third mistake was trying to make me look like an ass.” He continues. “Vikna, get going. I'll keep him here while he simmers down.”

She nods and he begins struggling against Jack's iron grip, but isn't getting anywhere.

“You scratch me or hit me at all, I'll squeeze your neck like a tube of toothpaste.” Jack threatens coolly.

“Y-you're insane!” He yells out.

“Eeyup.” Is all Jack says, holding him in place as Nytro continues to struggle against his grip.

Nytro keeps struggling, trying to pry Jack's arms off him, but his augments have made him much stronger than even the relatively strong and agile hybrid. Then, Jack feels something begin poking him down in his groin region, looking down between his legs.

“Did you just pop a boner?” Jack asks, looking back up in disgust.

Nytro looks off to the side, beginning to blush as the poking turns into jabbing.

“Dude, get laid.” Jack says, getting off him. “Like, seriously. Get laid and get some sleep.”

He lets go of Nytro and the hybrid sits there for a second, covering the bulge in his pants as he leans over on the floor. Jack looks back at ARA, who's blushing blue and Zeta is doing the same.

“Well, SRK has been asking me to do a...'threesome' for a while now, I guess I could-”

“M-mother! Let me leave the room first, please!” ARA interrupts, getting out of her seat and unplugging herself from the console. “I-I will be up with mister Rei!”

ARA rushes out of the room as Nytro struggles to control his erection, leading to Jack exiting the room too.

“You know I can link with 'Warning' and create a feedback loop of pleasure, right?” Zeta asks before Jack leaves the room, the doors closing as ARA runs off past Vikna.

She was holding her son in her arms, the two purring gently as Warning watched on with a smile on her face.

“Hey, Warning, Nytro needs you for a...thing.” Jack says, pointing to the control room.

“What thing?” Warning asks.

“He needs someone to...have sex with.” Jack replies meekly. “Zeta already wants you in there, so go on.”

“Okay!” Warning says excitedly. “This unit will be there momentarily mister Sykran!”

“What's sex?” Franklin asks curiously, making both Vikna and Jack blush brightly.

“W-wait until you're older Frankie.” Jack says with a stutter. “You won't understand it anyway.”

Franklin nods and Vikna begins making her way toward the space elevator portion, following after ARA.

30 minutes later

The personnel elevator finally stops on the top floor, ARA sighing with relief.

“So, how's life been?” She asks, finally speaking for the first time since the control room.

“It's been good.” He replies. “What about you? Did you learn new social skills?”

“I did. You can tell?” She asks with a smile.

“Of course. You're speaking casually instead of being all 'annoyed tone, I am very upset with Nytro doing it in the control room'.” He replies in an extremely monotone mock of her.

“Thanks!” She says. “I've been working at being more casual. I'm glad it's working!”

He nods and follows her down the seemingly expanded hallway, seeing a few rooms along it where there used to be none. When they reach the end of the hallway, the door opens up, revealing the same secretary sitting at the desk of the small waiting room. She looks up, seeing ARA and smiling before laying eyes on the man in body armor and a FAST helmet.

“Oh my...” She says with a smile. “You're back!”

He nods and ARA moves, allowing him to make his way over to the woman. She makes her way out from behind the desk and pulls him into a friendly hug, letting go and heading back behind her desk.

“Go right on through. ARA called in ahead of time to let me know.” She says, opening the door up.

“Thanks Kifa!” ARA says with a smile, walking into the combination office bedroom.

Fluff is hard at work, working on something with some kind of augmented reality hologram. Vikna stays back and sits Franklin down in one of the seats, Jack making his way in with ARA.

“Mister Rei, I've arrived.” ARA says, standing in the middle of the room as he moves all of the holograms into one place. “I even brought a friend!”

“Oh, who'd you bring?” He asks, turning around to see Jack standing there. “Oh...”

“Close the door.” Jack says, the door closing a moment later. “You've got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Dude, it's not what it looks like.” He says.

“You don't return any of my calls, barely talk to Vikna, and you sent Radoslav into the forest. He came to my door talking about Bhainen this and Ayn that. You know I have a phone, right?” Jack asks angrily. “Why did you cut contact with me? Is it because of some stupid bullshit with Vikna and I?”

“Do you know how much shit I get every day because you married one of the characters I made?” He asks. “I get messages daily telling me to denounce you and Vikna because you went off and did something literally a quarter of my fan base wanted to do as well! They tell me to make real life non-canon. Do you understand what I'm going through? I even have some dipshit drawing fanart of her and you, which directs even MORE hate my way! Why the hell does this fucking asshole have to stir the pot even more?!”

“I didn't know. I'm not going to stop, because she's my wife, but I'll tone it down a bit.” Jack replies.

“I should've known it was you!” He yells, pointing a feathery finger at Jack. “You never know when to take a fucking hint! STOP DRAWING MY CHARACTERS! STOP WRITING ABOUT THEM! STOP MAKING AN ONLINE PRESENCE AT ALL!”

“Wait...what?” Jack asks. “You never even tried to get a hold of me.”

Jack begins closing in on Fluff, his beak grinding back and forth as ARA watches on in confusion.

“Don't you come near me.” He says.

“Are you gonna answer me?” Jack asks, not stopping.

“I didn't contact you because you never answered!” He yells back.

“I check my e-mail daily.” Jack tells him. “I also check our messages and my phone every day. I wanted everyone to come over and see the ranch, but you never replied to any of my e-mails.”

“W-well-”

Jack gets in close enough and brings his hand up in a flash, flicking the bird's eye with his nail. A plastic sounding clack comes from his nail hitting the eye, causing “Fluff” to back away.

“ARA, call security.” Jack says. “How do I take an anthroid down without blowing the core?”

“Shoot it in the head. That's where all our important bits are.” She says, looking him over. “I didn't even think to scan him.”

Jack nods, raising his rifle as the anthroid, backs away, having been found out. He flicks off safe and pulls the trigger, letting off a quick burst of three shots into the head and neck of the Avidae anthroid. Sparks fly and bits of electronics are blown out the back as the anthroid stumbles, looking back at Jack with rage.

“ARA, WHERE ELSE?!” Jack screams frantically.

“UPPER CHEST!” She screams in kind, Jack adjusting as the anthroid begins to charge.

He puts three more shots into the upper torso, blowing more electronic bits out as a massive shower of sparks blows out the back side of the anthroid. He continues dumping into the anthroid before it begins to falter, losing its balance as it begins to fall. It collapses down on the floor and Jack flicks the empty magazine out of the rifle, the polymer contraption hitting the ground with a clatter as he inserts a new magazine. Jack moves up on the sparking anthroid with the rifle turned 45 degrees, using the reflex sight beside the magnified optic to keep the anthroid in his sights.

“You able to disable it for good?” He asks, knowing the anthroid can't possibly be destroyed.

“I'm authorized to overload the electronics of any unauthorized anthroids, so I guess.” She says. “I assume you want me to do it, so I will. Keep me covered.”

He nods, keeping the rifle pointed at the anthroid as she makes a fist, her fur standing up straight as she brings it down hard. The anthroid spasms for a bit before smoke begins pouring out of the holes Jack made, the cloud dissipating as she stands back.

“Considering previous experiences, he's either inside the closet, or he's off world.” ARA says.

“I'll go check.” Jack says, making his way to the futuristic looking closet.

The door to his room opens and a few security members rush inside, taking aim at the destroyed anthroid. One of them sees Jack and raises his rifle, but another one of the security members quickly reprimands him non-verbally. When Jack makes it to the closet, he hits the button to open it, seeing the limp form of his friend fall out. He checks for a pulse and finds that it's faint, almost non-existent. Jack drops his rifle, ripping off the first aid kit he had on and opening it up. He grabs some adrenaline from inside the pouch and pulls the body flat, stabbing it into the thigh of his bird legs. The effect is almost immediate, his heart rate getting stronger and faster as a gasp is heard above him.

“Stay calm.” Jack says. “Hey, is one of you an EMT?!”

“I'm trained as a medic, I can take over.” Another Avidae replies. “Sir, he just gave you an epi-pen. You'll be having tremors for a bit while your body recovers. Just stay calm and breath.”

Jack begins getting up, but Fluff grabs him and shakes his head.

“Get my portal device.” He says, struggling to speak as he tries to breath. “I'm not safe!”

Jack nods, understanding completely as he makes his way over to his desk. When he sees the wrist mounted device sitting on the desk, he grabs it, running back over to the bird as a needle is removed from his neck.

“Lethal tranquilizer, Forinide.” The medic tells him. “You're lucky to be alive, sir.”

Jack hands him the device and he turns it on, watching as he taps the screen a few times. A portal forms and the faint memory of his room is ruined by how completely trashed it is. He looks back at the door and sees Vikna standing there, holding Franklin back.

“Stay there!” Jack yells, getting up and running through the portal. “Time to pick on someone your own size, fuckers!”

The portal closes behind him and he sees three anthros standing around a body, now alerted to Jack's presence. He raises his rifle and fires two shots into one, felling him as the other two pull out weapons of their own. He manages to down another before the last one gets a bead on him, firing his weapon wildly as Jack ducks into cover. The shots go through the wall and out the other side, suggesting a high velocity cartridge of some kind. Definitely something he didn't want to get hit by. Jack looks over at the window to Fluff's room, having an idea.

“Sorry man, I'll fix it later...” Jack says under his breath as he takes a running start at the window.

He smashes through the pane of glass with ease, his weight combined with the hardness of the helmet meaning he didn't get injured by jumping through the window. When he gets to his feet, he knows there's not much time, so he rushes to the living room window. The man in the living room is standing there, confused before Jack takes aim. He fires two rounds through the window and the pane of glass shatters, the tiger dropping on the floor as his brains splatter against the wall beside him. Jack turns back toward the front of the house waiting and listening for more people to move around. He hears the sound of a boot scraping on gravel and checks to see he has about 10 or so rounds left in the magazine.

“I think the little runt is up!” One of the men yells. “He jumped out the window!”

Jack begins moving down the side of the house, amplifying the volume picked up by his headphones as he stops on the corner of the house. When he peeks around the corner, there's a gorilla and two leopards standing outside holding futuristic firearms. He hears some stomping around the house and sees the two SUVs parked outside.

“He's still unconscious, sir!” One of the men inside yells. “Someone else is here!”

“Keep searching!” The gorilla yells. “He can't have gone far.”

“Go time.” Jack whispers, readying his rifle and poking out around the corner.

He puts two shots into the gorilla, the primate falling down as he switches targets to the leopards. Two shots into one of them and the rounds seem to penetrate, going through both of them as his weapon is yanked out of his hands. Jack doesn't waste any time, identifying the threat and drawing his KABAR. He stabs into the horse, a squeak coming from the muscular equine as Jack proceeds to kick his knee in. He stabs into the shoulder of the horse for leverage, brutally snapping the other knee on the horse as he falls to the ground, screaming in pain. Jack draws his pistol, pumping 3 shots into the equine before holstering it and grabbing his rifle. No time to ID the holes, he had to keep the momentum going. He sees a cylindrical device Vikna had told him was a flashbang, picking it up and kicking in the door with relative ease. He primes the flash grenade, tossing it into the living room as he lets the mag drop from his rifle, loading a fresh magazine before hearing a chest thumping bang.

Jack turns the corner, seeing two deer standing over Fluff, firing two shots into each as blood splatters against the wall behind them. A porcupine comes out from around the corner, getting a shot off that hits Jack in the shoulder. He groans, using his good arm to one hand the rifle into a firing position. He pops off a single round, blowing a hole in the quilled creature as blood and quills explode out of his back. The pain hits him like a truck, making him cry out in pain as he holds his shoulder.

“Gotta get this thing out.” He says, feeling the other side of his shoulder. “Didn't go all the way through. I'll be fine.”

He attaches the rifle to the single point sling he neglected to attach before, letting the rifle hang before pulling out his leatherman. When the tool is out, he slams the pliers into the wound, digging around as he cries out in pain at the violent but necessary pace he was digging. When he finds the round, he grabs it, ripping it out along with some flesh as blood begins to pour from the wound. He reaches for the first aid kit, but realizes he left it back at the Tower. He doubted Fluff had listened to him when he said to get some Quik-Clots, since he hadn't contacted Jack at all during the entire 7 years he lived out in Montana. Still, he couldn't let one of the people who gave him a reason to live die in his own house. He kneels down and grabs the poor guy, who had now dyed his hair white. He looks on his neck and sees the same syringe, still mostly full of whatever they called the tranquilizer back at the Tower. He yanks it out, a bit of blood beginning to leak out as Jack grabs another epi-pen off his chest rig. When he stabs it into Fluff's thigh, the needle punches through the clothes and into his thigh muscles, injecting the fast acting liquid into him. He lets out a gasp, his eyes shooting open as he looks up at Jack in disbelief.

“J-Jack?” He asks.

“I'm here buddy. Breathe, just breathe.” Jack replies, putting a bloody hand on his shoulder. “We gotta get you out of here, but I need some bandages, you know where I can find some of those?”

“I-in the closet over there.” He says, pointing to a closet by the doorway. “Did you kick in my door?”

“No, they did.” Jack lies. “I did shoot out your window though.”

Jack gets up as Fluff looks around, seeing blood and brains everywhere as dead anthros surrounded him. He was glad his nose was stuffed up from whatever was in that syringe, since he didn't want to think about how bad it smelled. The man in uniform throws the door open, grabbing a large Quik-Clot bandage from inside and ripping it open. He stuffs it in his wound, groaning and hitting the wall as it seems to sting. Fluff gets off the floor, rubbing his head gingerly as he continues to breathe, almost tasting the smell of death in the room as Jack wraps his shoulder in gauze. When he finishes, he bites off the remainder and tosses it back in the cabinet, getting out a phone and dialing 911. After it rings for a moment, a woman picks up.

“Hello, 911, what's your emergency?” The woman asks.

“This is First Sergeant Haigs of the one twenty fourth Marine battalion. I'm in Rochford, South Dakota, I just shot nine men who were involved in a home invasion. All of them are dead and I've been shot in the shoulder.” Jack replies having put the phone on speaker.

“Is there anyone else in the house with you?” The woman asks.

“There's one man with me. He was hit with an alien sedative that seems to lower people's heart rates.” Jack replies. “The only name I was given was Rei.”

“I see, is he able to talk?” She asks.

Fluff shakes his head and Jack sighs.

“No, he's still shaking off the side effects of the tranquilizer.” He replies. “I'm on 11452 Nahant road. It's all narrow two tracks out here, so you won't get an ambulance in here. I'll get him out of the woods and to a hospital to be looked at. In the mean time-”

Before he could finish, a man charges out of the bathroom, knocking Jack to the floor as they both tumble along the wooden surface. Jack manages to get on top of the man, slamming his fist down into him as he draws the pistol from his chest holster, dumping an entire magazine into the man before the slide locks back. Fluff looks on in shock, looking back up at Jack, who's still covered in blood while he picks the phone back up.

“Get some state troopers loaded for bear! This zone's still hot! I'm pulling out!” Jack yells, getting off the coyote as he makes his way to Fluff. “Come on, we're getting the fuck out of here!”

The white haired man is helped along by Jack, both of them making it out the door as the woman on the phone is trying to speak.

“Sir, you need to stay put! Police will be there in ten minutes!” She says, Jack seeing more SUVs barreling down the two track.

“WE DON'T HAVE TEN SECONDS!” Jack screams back, putting the phone in his MOLLE pocket as he shoulders his rifle. “GET TO COVER!”

Jack flicks the rifle to full auto, laying into the first SUV with fully automatic 7.62 AP. The first SUV swerves into a tree while the second plows through, Jack dumping the rest of the magazine into the engine as the SUV begins smoking and sputtering. He flicks the magazine out, inserting a new one as he moves Fluff over to cover, gunfire already coming in as the man begins shaking. Shots start coming in from the SUVs as Jack slaps the bolt release, a round chambering itself into the gun.

“STAY HERE!” Jack shouts over the gunfire. “When they're dead, I'll get us out of here!”

All Fluff can do is nod as he sees Jack flank behind the SUV, sweeping the crashed Suburban before doing the same to the other one. The gun fire is halted as Jack loads another magazine, putting more accurate shots into the passenger compartment before standing there for a bit. Everything is quiet, the ringing in Fluff's ears subsiding as he walks back to the front of the SUV.

“You hurt?” Jack asks. “If not, get the keys to your car and get moving.”

“No no no. Hold on a second.” He says. “I cut contact with you for nearly seven years and this is how you come back? Destroying vehicles and killing assassins in CQB?”

“Yes.” Jack replies simply.

“God, am I glad to see you.” He says with a smile, getting off the ground. “What's with the getup and weird handholds?”

“I went through MARSOC training.” Jack replies, seeing Fluff dig the keys to a car out of his pocket. “Lots and lots of training. Super tacticool shit.”

“Vikna told me you hadn't left the ranch in five years.” He tells Jack.

“MARSOC training doesn't take more than a eleven months. Most of it was just more tactical versions of what I had already went through. Dudes were basically sucking my dick to get me to go.” Jack replies, putting the rifle on safe as he lets it dangle from his shoulder. “You sure you're okay? This kind of stress usually scares the shit out of most guys.”

“I'm just as surprised you are.” Fluff says. “Let's just get out of here. I don't want to be out here anymore.”

Jack doesn't argue as the garage door begins rising, revealing an old SUV Jack doesn't immediately recognize.

“I took a couple cars from the collection for myself.” He says with a smile. “Since I live out in the woods and that truck smelled like piss, I took the K-5.”

“I'll drive.” Jack says, taking the magazine out of his rifle and inserting a new one. “You did take those shooting lessons I nagged you to take, right? Right?”

“I did, I swear.” He replies, tossing the keys to Jack as he takes the rifle from him. “This thing is way lighter than I was expecting.”

“What, you think I was going to make it a bolter because I have super human strength? All the guns I built are designed with Vikna in mind.” He tells Fluff, getting into the drivers side of the large blazer. “This thing looks brand new.”

“I take very good care of my cars.” He says. “Well...most of them.”

“Cavalier.” Jack says between coughs.

“What? It was cheap and some hillbilly out here was selling it for literally nothing.” He says. “It was a dead man's car.”

“Nice.” Jack tells him, starting up the old Blazer. “Let's get the hell out of here before anything else happens.”

Jack sticks it into drive, the SUV idling out of the garage, staring straight ahead before looking back at Jack.

“Vikna is asking what's going on. Should I tell her what's happening?” He asks.

“Yeah, I stopped holding back a while ago.” Jack replies. “Tell her I got shot, but the bleeding is stopped for now.”

He nods, sitting back in the seat and staring at the ceiling for a bit, cringing a bit before shaking his head.

“She's...not happy.” He tells Jack. “She wants you to come back immediately.”

“Tell her I need to talk with the police.” Jack says. “Operator, are you still there?”

“I'm still here.” She replies. “Is the firefight over?”

“I don't see any hostiles around anymore, so I'm going to assume it's over for now. I'll hurry off to the hospital right now.” He replies. “Tell the police to meet me there and have a squad car escort me. Not entirely sure we won't be followed.”

“Alright, I'll redirect them to the hospital. What are you wearing?” She asks. “What vehicle are you driving?”

“I'm wearing a Marine uniform, a plate carrier and a tactical helmet. I'll leave my weapons in the SUV. I'm driving a K-5 Chevrolet Blazer from around 1980. Got all that?” He asks.

“Yes, sir. I'll stay on the line until you arrive.” She replies.

“Rei, keep your eyes on the forest, roll that window down and cover your sector.” Jack says, accelerating down the rutted dirt road.

“You got it.” He says, rolling the window down and holding the gun out the window. “I won't hit shit going this fast.”

“Flick it to full auto and you'll at the very least spook them. They won't expect automatic weapons.” Jack replies, pulling out his pistol and loading a new magazine.

“So, uh, where did you go to get all this training?” He asks.

“I went to the UK for a while and trained with the SAS on how to drive evasively. My reaction times make it pretty easy to correct in a vehicle, provided I'm not going over a hundred fifty.” He says. “Guys are absolutely brutal, but it's what I needed for what I was planning on doing.”

“What were you planning?” Fluff asks.

“A special warfare school on my ranch. There was a lot of acreage and lots of varying terrain to train on.” He replies. “I was actually going to train them on space warfare. That is, if Vikna agreed. After a while of me going all over the world to train, she got sick of it and told me to stop training a few years ago. The prospect of me going off and fighting a war scared her half to death.”

“I can tell. God, simultaneously controlling Rei and me is really hard. Especially with all those tranquilizers that got pumped into both of us.” He tells Jack. “Vikna is fucking pissed.”

“Well I'm not very happy right now either. Tell her she's safe and Franklin is safe too.” Jack says.

“Wait, is that the name of that kid?” He asks. “Wait...is he...”

“Yeah, he's my son. Turns out, having sex makes kids.” Jack replies with a smile. “I see a dirt track off to the right and another further up to the left. Which one do I take?”

“One on the right leads out.” He replies. “Hang on, I see something coming down the two track!”

Jack looks over and sees a black SUV barreling down the two track, bobbing up and down as a man hangs out the top with a large rifle in his hand.

“Oh shit! What's on the left?!” Jack asks.

“That goes across a bridge! It's a lot further, but we won't run into this guy!” He yells.

Jack nods and puts the pedal to the floor, hearing gunfire pepper the side of the SUV. The engine roars along as the bumps get even more intense, Fluff hanging out the side of the SUV and spraying the Suburban behind them with fully automatic fire.

“STOPPING!” Jack shouts.

Fluff barely has any time to grab anything before Jack slams on the brakes, the tires locking up as he begins pumping the brakes. Jack turns off to the left and the SUV goes flying off past them, not ready for the turn as he guns the engine.

“I'm empty!” Fluff yells, prompting Jack to hand him another magazine.

He takes it, pulling the magazine out and tossing it in the back, slapping the other one in and pulling the charging handle back and forth. They keep going down the road, hoping to gain as much distance as they possibly can from the Suburban.

“GET BACK INSIDE!” Jack screams, pulling Fluff back inside as he narrowly misses a tree.

The truck is rolling along the uneven ground at nearly 78 miles an hour, the Blazer being pushed to its limit as the bridge is coming up.

“Uh, Jack! The bridge!” Fluff yells, pointing to the completely destroyed bridge. “It's gone!”

“We'll have to jump the fucker!” He yells back, stomping the gas to the floor as the truck downshifts, screaming at the top of its lungs.

“WE WON'T MAKE IT!” Fluff screams, holding onto the grab handle.

“The angle is just right for the jump!” Jack yells back. “Hang on!”

The truck hits the bridge violently, bouncing up into the air as it crosses the small gap with ease.

“Told you!” Jack says with a smile, looking in the mirror. “The driver with little confidence will not complete that jump! Watch behind us!”

Fluff turns around, seeing the Suburban closing in at high speed. However, as soon as they see the bridge is out, they slam on the brakes, unable to stop before falling down into the river.

“Is he stopped?!” Jack asks.

“I...guess you could say that...” Fluff replies with a chuckle. “Fell in the river!”

Jack laughs, slowing the Blazer down a bit and giving the old truck a break. He sits back in the seat, taking a deep breath as he sees the road ahead.

“Oh, that's right!” Fluff says. “This was the faster way. The bridge has just been out for a while and nobody has come to fix it.”

Jack slows the truck down, braking to a halt just before he turns onto the road, watching Fluff pull up a microphone.

“Old CB radio. Can probably contact the police with this thing.” He says.

“Here, write down the frequency real quick.” Jack says, handing him a sharpie and a piece of paper. “I need them to know what frequency to tune into.”

He nods, writing down the frequency before undoing his seat belt, crawling into the back as he climbs over the rear row of seats. When he gets to the back, he sticks the piece of paper in the gasket between the window and the tailgate, crawling back up to the front before putting the seat belt back on.

“Holy shit, I just shot out of a truck.” He says with a big grin. “That was so cool! I mean, we almost died, but that was cool!”

Jack chuckles, looking back at the bullet holes and seeing they were only feet from where Fluff was sitting. His smile turns to a cringe before looking back at the road.

30 minutes later

Jack is driving down the road, checking in his mirror every so often before seeing a state trooper tearing ass down the road, his lights on as he matches speed with the Blazer.

“First Sergeant, do you copy?” A man on the CB asks.

“This is Haigs, I read you.” Jack replies after grabbing the mic. “What's the status on the house?”

“Can't really say over CB. Gonna need you to pull over, bud.” He says.

“No can do. I'm injured in my arm and I got a man who got hit with an alien sedative.” Jack tells him. “I'll give a report when we get to the hospital but I can't waste time with a traffic stop.”

“I guess you've been through enough. I'll escort you along the highway to the hospital.” The officer tells him.

Jack nods, the officer getting in front of him before speeding up, Jack matching his pace as the cruiser sits at a comfortable 100 miles an hour. After about 10 minutes of this, they reach the hospital where 3 state police cruisers are sitting outside the entrance.

“Fluff, put the gun in the back or these guys will light us up.” Jack says, setting his pistol down beside him as Fluff sets the weapon in the back. “Just get in the hospital and get yourself sorted. I'll answer some questions the police have for us.”

The state troopers all exit their vehicles with guns drawn, the officer inside the car calming them down as Jack and Fluff exit the vehicle. Fluff enters the hospital right away while Jack makes his way over to the police, stopping at a support and sitting down. The state trooper that was leading him comes over, smiling as he squats down on the ground.

“So, what the hell happened?” The guy asks, turning on his body cam.

“You know a place called the Rishan galaxy?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, I think everyone on Earth knows what that is. They gave us our first interstellar ships.” He replies.

“Well, I went there because my wife ran off to go find some big war criminal named Bhainen. He must've sent some goons here or something because those guys were definitely not from around here.” Jack says. “I had to kick someone's ass before my friend in there called for help. I jumped back through a portal, took out some dudes, broke a couple windows and drove off.”

“We saw four SUVs with fifteen dead men around the property and five who were shot by police. Guessing those fifteen were from you?” He asks.

“Yeah.” Jack replies.

“You need anybody to talk with?” He asks.

“No, I can handle fifteen more.” Jack replies. “Must think I'm some kind of maniac.”

“Well, you served in the Sianian war, right?” He asks.

“Also served in Afghanistan and Iran.” Jack replies. “Fuck, this sparks.”

“You need some medical attention?” He asks.

“No, I'm going back to the Rishan to talk with my wife.” He replies. “They can fix it up real quick there.”

“If you say so...” He says. “So, why did they attack your friend?”

“Well, he's the one who controls the consciousness of the anthro that controls the portals.” Jack replies. “They control him, they control the portals. I suspect they were going to take him off and try to take over the galaxy or some shit.”

“So, in a way, you just saved the galaxy?” He asks with a smile.

“Wouldn't be the first time.” Jack replies, looking down at the ground before shaking his head.

“Well, that pretty much confirms who you are. Honor to meet you, man.” He says, holding out a hand. “My wife and I are big fans.”

“She's an anthro?” Jack asks a bit more quietly.

“Everybody knows, man.” The guy says, sitting down beside him. “You know she was in a building you freed on Katric?”

“Huh.” He says. “Small world.”

“Where do you live now, if you don't mind me asking.” He says.

“I live on a ranch by the mountains in Montana.” Jack replies. “Kind of cozy, actually. Well, if you don't count all the wolves and...things.”

“We were all listening to the 911 call. That was pretty intense. Was that automatic gunfire yours or theirs?” He asks.

“Theirs and mine.” Jack says. “I don't own any illegal firearms.”

“Good. Now I won't have to arrest you.” He says with a wink. “Now, I need an official report.”

“I entered through a portal at approximately 1600 hours, engaging in close quarters battle with three combatants, all standing above Rei's body. I knew they were hostile and their intent was shown to me as soon as I called them out. They're not friends and they certainly weren't anyone he knew.” Jack begins explaining. “The firefight began and I had to duck out of a window, flanking around and taking out the third combatant through another window. I flanked around the house and found three more in front of the house, all of them armed. Under the new laws regarding castle doctrine in South Dakota, I engaged these hostile elements with extreme prejudice, taking them out before entering the house through a kicked down door. I used a flash bang off one of the intruders to blind and deafen two more, taking them both out before they could get a shot off. One of the intruders managed to hit me in the shoulder and I traded shots with him before resuscitating Rei. The rest was recorded on the 911 call.”

“Jesus, slow down man.” He says. “I wanted a report, not a story.”

“Sorry, I'm used to writing long reports.” He replies, taking the helmet cam off his helmet and seeing the gunfire activation feature was actually working. “Here, take this into your car and check out the footage.”

He nods, taking the camera and making his way back to his squad car. When he gets inside, Jack lays his head back against one of the pillars, resting himself for a bit before he notices officers walking over to the squad car. He looks back down at his watch, noticing almost an hour has gone by and the sun is beginning to set.

“Whoa!” One of the troopers yells out, looking back at Jack. “He wasted those guys!”

“Really glad he's on our side.” Another trooper says.

“You sure?” Another man asks, reaching for his sidearm.

“I can take a shot from whatever caliber you're packing to my face and survive.” Jack says. “Why does everyone I meet want me dead?”

“Sims, show some respect. Don't you know he's a war hero?” One of the older troopers asks, stinging the Marine more than it should.

“Yeah, you're right.” He says, taking his hand off his hip.

“Hey, how's that shoulder?” Someone asks, coming from the hospital.

Jack looks over and sees Fluff coming out of the hospital, walking out with a smile on his face.

“Good, what about you?” Jack asks.

“It wasn't anything life threatening. I'll be staying at a hotel tonight.” He says.

“I'm okay with you staying over if you want.” Jack tells him. “We have extra room in the house and there's a few cabins all over the property. You can bring the misses along too.”

“Oh...uh, she doesn't really like you.” He says. “Like, at all. She thinks you're a creep.”

“Who'd have thought? The man who writes furry fanfiction and married an anthro is a creep.” Jack tells him. “At least stay in the Rishan for a while, man. I'm sure Rei has some pull with Kaltag, try and get some military grade anthroids for guards. Sure they're OP as fuck.”

“Right.” He says. “Well, let me get Rei to open up a portal.”

Fluff sits there for a while before a portal opens, confusing some of the officers as Jack gets up. He makes his way to the portal before remembering his guns, going back to the Blazer. When he opens it up and retrieves his guns, the officers all tense up.

“You need these for evidence?” Jack asks, holding the AR out by its stock as he walks over to the squad car.

“We have all the evidence we need from the camera. Don't think there's going to be much of a case, since these guys aren't even from this planet. You can keep your gucci rifle.” The trooper in the car tells him. “Here's your camera back.”

“Keep it. There's some stuff on there you all might like. Lots of SAS and MARSOC training on it.” Jack says. “See you all later.”

They all wave and Jack turns around, seeing Fluff is already through the portal. When Jack makes it through, the portal is closed and Vikna is sitting on the bed, bird-Fluff putting a hand on her shoulder. When she looks up and sees Jack all bloody and bandaged, her eyes go wide.

“Daddy, are you okay?” Franklin asks behind Jack.

“I'm fine, Frankie.” Jack replies, turning around. “Just a scratch.”

“Mommy was really scared.” He says. “She said you were gonna die.”

“Mommy knows me better than that.” Jack says with a smile. “Were you being a big brave boy and keeping mommy safe?”

“Yeah, that robot tried to get up but the red girl shocked it again. She made lightning from her fingers!” He says excitedly.

“Lightning comes from the sky, Franklin.” ARA tells him. “I used electrokinesis.”

“That's so cool.” He says with a smile. “Daddy, can I do things like that?”

“It depends on what your magical power is.” Jack replies. “I'm a booster-”

“Amplifier.” ARA corrects. “You're an amplifier.”

“Semantics.” He tells her. “I can boost people's magic by channeling the Tau through myself and making it stronger. I haven't played around with it much, but I think I can use it to make power for different things too.”

“Wow, you're so cool dad.” He says with a sparkle in his eye.

“Not as cool as you are.” Jack tells him. “Daddy needs to do something really gross, so look away for a while, okay?”

“Okay!” He replies, covering his eyes.

Jack walks back over to Vikna, who's smiling back at him as she takes out the tool he knew she had. When he rips the gauze and bandage off, she runs the tool over his wound, causing him to grit his teeth and slam his foot down.

“Fuu-ungus.” Jack says, nearly letting a swear slip. “Is it done?”

“It's done.” She says, flipping the tool over and blowing on it like it was a gun. “We can stay here for the night. Zofie says she wants to come over and say hi.”

“Has Nytro finally pulled that broom handle out of his...butt?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, he's...doing it in a room downstairs.” She replies.

“This...is weird.” Fluff says, looking over at ARA. “Uh...hey.”

“Hi!” She says cheerfully. “You must be the ubiquitous FluffKevlar!”

“Don't call me that...” He says, blushing a bit. “Call me Rei.”

Jack pulls Vikna off the bed, smiling as she stands up and gives him a hug.

“You know I'm not gonna die on you like that. They didn't even fracture my bones with that shot.” He tells her before letting out a yawn. “How long have you been up? I'm starting to get tired.”

“Too long.” She replies, the conversation between creator and creation being drowned out as the two embrace each other. “He built rooms specifically for all of us to stay, so we wouldn't have to find hotels.”

“Is that what those were?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, I haven't actually seen mine yet.” She says. “Franklin where do you want to sleep?”

“I want to sleep with the red one!” He says with a smile.

“Nice.” Jack says.

“I...don't know what to say to that.” ARA says, blushing bright blue.

“He doesn't even know what intercourse is. Can you just be a big teddy bear for him? He doesn't like new places and he's not allowed to sleep in our room.” Jack tells her. “Nothing is going to happen.”

“Well...I guess I could stand guard while he sleeps.” ARA says before Franklin latches onto her.

“You're very soft misses ARA.” He says, rubbing his face against her dress.

“T-thank you.” She says, her blush getting a bit brighter as she returns the hug awkwardly. “I'm unsure of how to provide maternal care, but I'll do my best.”

“Just let him cuddle and he'll be fine.” Jack says. “Let's go off to bed. Franklin, you be in bed within the next hour, you hear?”

“Yes, daddy.” He says. “I want to look at the stars a little longer.”

Jack nods and takes Vikna out of the room, seeing the secretary smile and nod. When they both make it to the room simply named “Vikna” he opens it up, revealing lots of Katrician Navy memorabilia. There were pictures of her friends and family, some drawn and some that were just images. Jack makes his way to the bed, which was actually very nice looking before beginning to strip out of all his things. Vikna tosses her clothes on the floor, not wearing anything underneath her shirt and pants outside of some panties. She throws herself onto the bed, laying there as Jack makes his way over to her, orienting her properly and pulling the covers over her body.

“We can go home tomorrow after Zofie comes to visit.” She says. “Maybe she'll come over and cook for us.”

“Maybe.” He says, turning the lights off as he looks out the large window, seeing ships coming in and going out. “I kind of missed this place. I feel more at home here than I do on Earth.”

“Can we stay?” She asks. “Just for a few days?”

“All our food will spoil.” He replies. “Time goes faster at home than it does here.”

“Okay.” She says, Jack getting in bed with her after he takes all his things off. “Good night.”

“Night, love you.” He says, pulling her into an embrace.

“Love you too.” She replies, both of them falling asleep shortly after.

5 hours later

Jack is woken up by gentle sobs, someone pulling themselves tight against his body as he tries his best to wake himself up. When he looks down, he sees Vikna holding him desperately, sobbing into his chest as he cocks his head.

“You okay, honey?” He asks, putting a hand behind her head.

“N-no!” She says, her sobs turning into cries as the last bit of tiredness is shaken from Jack's consciousness.

He sits up immediately, holding her close to him as he rubs his hands down her long hair. She cries into his shoulder, tears pooling up as he kisses her cheek gently.

“It's okay.” He says. “I'm here for you.”

She continues to let out cries of despair, her tail hanging limp on the bed as he rubs her back and head, holding her as close as he dare without breaking her body. She digs her claws into his back as she continues to cry, making him grit his teeth as she cuts deep into his flesh.

“T-their faces!” She manages to yell out. “Every t-time I close my eyes!”

“Shhh...” Jack says, managing to keep his composure as she finally takes her claws out. “Just let it out.”

He begins rocking her back and forth as he begins humming an old British patriotic song she liked. He feels her smiling, her sobs dying down to a couple whimpers and sniffles. She pulls herself away from him, leaning over to the night stand and taking out the medical probe, running it over his back as he grunts from the pain.

“Can you sing for me?” She asks. “Sing that song for me.”

Jack chuckles a bit, rubbing her shoulders a bit as he clears his throat.

“I vow to thee, my country,  
all Earthly things above,  
entire and whole and perfect,  
The service of my love.” He begins singing, deepening his voice as far as it will comfortably go. “The love that asks no questions,  
The love that stands the test,  
that lays upon the altar  
the dearest and the best.  
The love that never falters,  
the love that pays the price,  
the love that makes undaunted  
the final sacrifice.”

Jack continues to hum the rest as he holds her close to him, hearing the door open up beside them.

“Miss Vikna, are you okay?” ARA asks. “I heard you crying and feared the worst.”

“I'm fine now, ARA.” She replies. “Thanks for checking.”

“You're welcome.” ARA says. “I'm going to accompany your son through his dreams again. He's been having very interesting ones.”

Vikna nods and ARA leaves the two alone, allowing them both to fall asleep again.

6 hours later

Vikna wakes up to the feeling of being embraced by her husband's massive arms, purring at the feeling as he too stirs from sleep. She pushes her muzzle past his “beard” and begins kissing the barely conscious man, feeling him begin to kiss her back as he strokes her long hair gently. She wanted to go further, much further, but right now wasn't the time and here wasn't the place. Knowing her luck, Franklin or someone else would walk in on them before both of them could finish. He pulls away from her and begins stroking her cheek, smiling gently at her.

“Morning.” He tells her. “Is Zofie here yet?”

“I don't know. I just got up.” She replies. “Let's get up and go see.”

He nods, letting her go as she lifts herself off him, smelling herself before being content she didn't smell. When she steps off the bed, she walks over to the dresser and waves her hand over it. The drawer opens and she looks inside, seeing clothes inside she had never seen before. She takes them out, beginning to put them on as Jack gets up with a grunt. She looks back at him, watching as he opens that massive bag of his and pulling out what looked like a giant pill. He pulls it apart, revealing a shirt, some new underwear, and some socks. She puts on the shirt with a wavy blue and white pattern on it, seeing it seem to glow in direct light as she puts on a skirt of sorts. Jack dons a striped shirt and some jeans, looking completely ordinary...in the 90s. Vikna shakes her head and smiles at his terrible fashion sense.

When the two of them are dressed, they put on their shoes and make their way into the hallway, seeing Franklin jumping up and down in front of ARA. Vikna chuckles at that and makes her way toward the reception room with Jack in tow, the receptionist not being there. Instead, Rei was sitting there, reading something on a holo-tablet as she walks up to the desk. When she clears her throat, he looks up, giving her a gentle smile before putting the device down.

“Good morning.” He says. “My room's off limits right now, since real me and my girlfriend are sleeping right now. She needs some time to adjust to the whole thing.”

“Did Zofie get here yet?” Vikna asks.

“Yeah, she's in the lobby.” He replies. “Jack, you and I need to talk. I need to talk about yesterday.”

Vikna walks down the hall as Jack stands there, watching as Fluff makes his way out from behind the desk. He pulls a couple hovering chairs along with him, setting them down adjacent to each other before sitting down in one. Jack sits down in front of him, the bird sighing as he looks back up at him.

“I heard all of it yesterday.” He says, giving Jack a stern look. “I don't mind the occasional drawing of Vikna, but I think you could turn it back a bit. Maybe draw something of ARA or Ayn doing something with Gas or Moia? Just spice things up a bit instead of drawing Vikna and your totally-not-a-self-insert human character doing lovey dovey stuff.”

“I'll do that.” Jack replies.

“Also, tone down the edgy violence. It makes me kind of queezy when I look at it.” He continues.

“Wait, what? I never posted those anywhere.” Jack says. “How did you get those?”

“You sent them to me a few months ago. I didn't even know what to say.” He replies.

“Fuck!” Jack yells out. “I'm so sorry! I must've been drunk and I didn't know what I was doing. I promise I don't make a habit of doing it and-”

“It's fine, it's fine!” He says with a knowing smile. “I believe you. I've done the same thing to Vikna.”

“Thanks.” Jack says before realizing something. “Wait, what do you mean 'to Vikna'?”

“That's another thing. The seven years of silence...” He says, looking off to the side. “I was super bitter about you marrying Vikna. I didn't like the idea of you basically stealing over ten years of hard work and character development from under me. In fact, I'm still a little salty about it. However, I realized that I can't stay mad at you forever. Especially when you did something for my birthday literally every single year. Kind of wears on you when someone makes something that's actually really decent every year just for you.”

“Didn't think you actually saw them.” Jack says, smiling at the fact he was even being acknowledged. “I've been taking it really seriously.”

“I can tell.” He says before clearing his throat. “So, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry.”

“We're sorry!” Fluff yells out from inside the room.

“Yeah, we're sorry.” He says with a smile. “Just know I'm not as mad at you anymore. It'll be a while before everything is smooth sailing, but I'll still be in indirect contact through Vikna.”

“What about Nytro?” Jack asks. “Why is he mad?”

“Why else? You didn't help fix your mess.” He replies. “I know you were preoccupied with a kid, but you could've at least tried to do something. People wanted to see you after the war, but I had to tell them you went home for a while.”

“I'm here now, maybe I could go on a belated victory parade?” Jack asks. “Do people still remember me?”

“Everyone remembers you. In this quarter of the galaxy, most planets know many of your friends names. We can see the rest along the way.” He says.

“Wait, we?” Jack asks.

“I'm coming along too. I'm the director of the one and only Tower. What kind of host would I be if I didn't at least try to accompany the one and only 'Gunny' around the galaxy?” He asks in reply.

“Oh shit.” Jack says. “Wasn't expecting this.”

“It'll only be a few weeks. Nothing too major.” He says. “It'll be outside the Emperor's jurisdiction too, since it's my own private battle cruiser.”

“OH MY GOD!” They both hear come down the hallway. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?!”

Jack looks down the hall to see a large brown and white canine standing at the end of the hallway, a panicked looking Vikna looking back as Jack gets up in a flash. He sprints down the hallway, weaving in between Franklin and ARA before making it to what he can only assume is an SS. He pulls Vikna away from the canine and puts himself in between the two, the grin that was present on the canine's face now replaced with a frown.

“You SS fucks stay away from my wife, you hear?” He asks. “You'll have to grind me into dust before I let you anywhere near her.”

“Quit being such a drama queen. It's just a few of the same augs.” The man replies in a Katrician accent. “Only took the hundred percent option though. You an SS?”

“Daddy said a bad word!” Franklin yells.

“Franklin, now is not the time to chastise!” ARA says, panic in her voice as he hears her pulling Franklin back.

“Who are you?” Jack asks, feeling Vikna struggling against his grasp.

“Name's Det. You?” He asks.

“Jack.” He replies.

“Oh, you're that guy on the statue at the base.” He says. “I don't see a ring on her finger, buddy. She said she'd wait for me and I came back when I heard she made it back from Earth.”

“Jack...”

The man looks back at Vikna, who's looking up at him while shaking her head.

“That was more than ten years ago, Det.” She says, looking past Jack as he stands aside, if just barely. “I couldn't wait any longer.”

“I was getting my doctorate.” He tells her. “I was too busy to call. You know how little the demand for real doctors is nowadays.”

“Why did you get those augmentations and ruin your body like that?” She asks him.

“I could ask why your new boyfriend did the same thing.” He replies. “I did it so I didn't look like a lanklet anymore.”

“Please don't talk about him like that...” She says, looking down at the floor. “He's nice to me...”

“I was nice to you too before you dropped me.” Det says with a hint of ire.

“Should I call security?” ARA asks.

“NO!” Jack and Vikna both shout at the same time.

ARA nods and Jack turns back to the large canine, who's looking smug.

“Think you can beat me with that measly fifty?” He asks. “I read up on your procedure and you're nothing compared to me.”

“Det, don't get him angry.” She says. “He's really unstable.”

“Another fixer upper?” He asks with a smirk.

Jack closes his eyes, taking a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth to calm down. He knew how much Detonayo meant to Vikna and he didn't want to hurt one of her best friends.

“Stop it, Det...” She says meekly. “He's really good to me.”

“Still repeating yourself when you're nervous too.” He says with a smile. “You're really cute, Vicky, you know that?”

“Thanks.” She says, blushing now.

“Dude, I already told you she's married to me. We even had a kid together.” Jack tells him. “I know you two loved each other once upon a time, but she's not yours anymore.”

“I think I know my Vicky a little better than that.” He says with a smile. “I know she's just biding her time waiting for me. She has her own needs but I know she's mine in the end.”

“Det...” She says, not able to continue, just shaking her head.

“Wait, what?” He asks. “Vikna, I...I did all this just for you.”

“I moved on.” She says.

“No...” He says, clenching his fists.

“Detonayo, you need to stay calm!” Jack says, pushing Vikna back harshly. “If you get angry this soon after the operation, you won't be able to control it! It has to do with the strength giving you an overwhelming sensation of power!”

“Shut up.” He says. “SHUT UP!”

“Vikna, run!” Jack says. “Get Franklin to a safe place!”

“You BITCH!” He shouts angrily. “I'LL KILL YOU!”

He tries to push past Jack, but he plants his feet, gritting his teeth and holding Det back with all his might.

“I think the FUCK NOT!” Jack yells, rearing back an arm and slamming it forward with everything he has.

He hears a small crack, feeling pain in his fingers and knuckles as Det is thrown off balance by the massive amount of force exerted on his rib cage. He charges back at Jack, feeling like a freight train coming at him as Vikna pulls Franklin into a room.

“Mommy, daddy's punching someone!” The kitten yells out in fright.

“GET IN THE ROOM!” Vikna screams, terrified of what might happen if Det makes it through. “Call security, you big red idiot!”

“I've already contacted them, but they can not respond to a rogue SS without special purpose anthroids.” ARA replies. “For the next five minutes, it's up to mister Jackson to deal with the threat!”

She watches on helplessly as Jack continues to battle her ex, not knowing who to root for just a fraction of a second longer than she should've. Jack continues to hold the line, not letting her frenzied ex gain any ground as he definitely gives it all he's got. The fact that she was in the hallway limited his tactical options, not able to put him on the ground with his inferior strength and body weight. However, she wasn't going to let any harm come to her baby. She'd give it her all, even a lethal dose if necessary. Detonayo finally manages to overwhelm Jack with a swift kick to his liver, making him crumple under the full force of her ex. He stomps Jack out as the Marine grabs his chest, the wind having been knocked out of him. When Det realizes the fight is off with her husband, he turns his hungry eyes on Vikna, making her back away in fright.

“I've done SO MUCH for you, Vikna.” He says. “Only for you to run off with some two bit human when you promised you'd wait.”

Jack is desperately trying to get off the floor, but he can't manage as Vikna watches helplessly. She knows her ice is too weak and she's completely out of practice. She couldn't murder him by freezing his insides either. She still liked him, even though he just tried to kill her husband.

“Leave mommy alone!” A voice sounds from behind her, Franklin running in front of Vikna as she's now frozen in fear.

“Franklin...no...” Jack tries to let out before falling to the ground again.

“I won't let you hurt my mommy!” He yells out, her brave little boy holding his hands up to block Det from her.

He looks down at the boy in front of him, pausing slightly as if to think what to do. For a moment, Vikna thinks Franklin's little stunt might be enough to pull him out of whatever trance he's in.

“You even had a kid.” He says, smirking as the fire comes back into his eyes. “You said we'd have kids.”

He takes a step forward, challenging the child's resolve. Franklin stands firm and bares his little teeth, the display making Det laugh. This wasn't just post-aug anger, this was something much more malevolent.

“Give me your best shot, kid.” He says with a smile. “Hit me with everything you have.”

Franklin does just that, rearing his arm back and throwing it forward with everything he has. Vikna can hear her son's bones crack as he hits the man with the wrong knuckles. Franklin pulls his hand back and holds the broken digits in his hand, still trying his best to pretend it doesn't hurt while tears leak from his eyes. Jack is stunned by the display put on by his son. Literally every instinct in his little feline body should be telling him to run, but he chooses to fight and keep his mother safe. This gives him the strength, the will to take a breath.

“If you lay a hand on my boy, I will kill you.” He says. “I will rip out every single one of those undeserved muscles until you're nothing but a bag of bones.”

Vikna can only watch in horror as Det smiles wide, grabbing Franklin in a flash as he begins beating on the canine's arm with his good fist. He holds Franklin up by his shirt and smiles, putting his other hand on the little feline's neck.

“You know, I don't like it when people break promises like this.” He says. “We're going to start over, you and me. This kid is an unfortunate accident and that disgusting thing behind me was a mistake.”

He begins squeezing Franklin's neck as the boy struggles to breathe, Vikna crying out and pleading with him not to do it. Fluff is frozen in place, not knowing what to do. What could he do? This thing could easily snap every fragile bone in his body without a second thought. That's when he sees Jack's hair begin standing on end, his fists clenched so hard he's drawing blood. He gets off the ground, what looks like yellow electricity beginning to arc back and forth between all parts of his body. When he walks forward, a bolt of pure Tau-fueled energy destroys one of the light fixtures on the side of the wall, turning Det's attention to the sparking and enraged father.

“Holy shit, a multi-amp?” The canine asks, tossing the child aside. “This I gotta see.”

“Get Franklin out of there Vikna. Your ex just signed his own death warrant.” Jack says in a macabre tone she'd only ever heard one other time.

She's about to protest when she looks down, seeing her baby gasping for air. He's right, this thing wasn't the Det she knew all those years ago. Time has changed and corrupted him into something horrible and undesirable. ARA picks up Franklin for Vikna, carrying him off hurriedly as Vikna looks back up at her sparking husband. She'd never seen a Tau amplifier do something like this before, as most of them are quiet and reserved sidekicks or choose not to use their powers on anyone. Jack, on the other hand, was so calm that it sent a shiver down her spine.

“Even with all that power coursing through your veins, you won't be able to-” Is all Detonayo gets out before Jack slams an uppercut in him with enough force to send him into the ceiling.

All Det can do is let out a squeak as he falls from the metallic ceiling, landing on the floor as Vikna dives out of the way. Jack doesn't allow the man any time to recover, picking him off the floor and squeezing his neck in the same manner the canine choked his son.

“I'm going to squeeze your neck like a tube of toothpaste.” Jack says, spittle coming out of the strangely calm man's mouth.

Det struggles and Jack holds firm, the strength provided by the Tau amplification slowly draining his mental faculties. The only thing keeping him awake and strong right now was the fact that he was in a state of pure rage. As he holds the man in his hands, he thinks about the men on Earth. The soldiers he ended with brutal and ruthless efficiency drilled into him by the SAS and MARSOC drill instructors, they didn't deserve to die. They were no less evil than he was and they were just following orders. They had a job to do and Jack had a duty to uphold. However, this canine, he must've changed into something bitter while he was gone. Something truly twisted. Even someone as socially stunted as Jack can feel an aura of ill will around him that won't be sated just by taking Vikna. He fully intends on taking Jack's wife down to the grave if he fails. He couldn't fail, not when he has so much at stake.

Vikna watches the spectacle, her husband hoisting her ex into the air as all empathy and pity is drained from her usually love-filled husband's eyes. Even when he shot the man who broke into their house, he felt a certain amount of remorse for having shot a man less fortunate than him. This was oppressively dark, even for someone who's been to the special kind of hell that she and him had both experienced. He brings the hulking man over to a wall and slams him into it, shaking the floor with the force of the impact as the aura around Det is overpowered by the aura emitted by Jack, or lack thereof. It was as if his compassion had just vanished into thin air. He rears Det back again and slams him into the wall, making an imprint in the wall as her previous lover tries his best to free himself. With every attempt, Det was forced back into the wall harder than before, bolts of yellow and orange Tau arcing in the air as it seems to super charge his muscles.

Det manages to somehow break free of Jack's iron grip, sending the human flying across the hall and into the wall as he stands up, face unflinching as the only feeling left in his body told him to kill the evil that had dared step foot in this space elevator. He draws a combat knife from his belt and gets into a stance, leading to Detonayo folding his ears back.

“T-that's not fair.” He says.

Jack doesn't care about fairness. This man needed to die and he would've gladly shot him, had he taken his pistol with him. When he moves forward to deal with the man, the elevator doors at the end of the hall open, drawing Jack's attention.

“He's right here!” Det yells, trying to shift the blame on Jack.

“I think the fuck not!” Vikna yells out, mirroring her husband's words from earlier.

The massive and overbuilt anthroids already know who to go for, pointing their rifle sized non-lethal weaponry at the massive man as Jack backs off. This was out of his hands now.

“W-what are you doing? I'm innocent here!” He yells, pointing at Jack as he tells a lie with as much passion as he can muster. “He's the real culprit! Take him in!”

“If I could, I would.” Nytro says from the back, holding a shock rifle of his own. “Unfortunately, he's still useful to us...somehow.”

“I refuse to believe you're siding with this asshole!” Detonayo yells out, pointing at Jack again. “He threw me INTO THE CEILING!”

Det shifts his finger from Jack toward a dent in the ceiling, causing Nytro to snort before smiling, returning to his more professional gaze afterward.

“You're smart and did your research. Just because there's no cameras in here doesn't mean we couldn't see what was going on. Red made sure of that.” Nytro says, pointing to the anthroid as she smiles and waves. “No way you're getting out of this one.”

“But it's not fair!” Det yells, stomping a foot down. “He took the only girl I ever loved right from under me!”

Vikna looks back at him with sadness in her eyes, but Nytro shakes his head.

“You're a liar, Detonayo. Says on your Softail account that you've been with no less than five other women in the past five months alone.” Nytro says after pulling up a holographic pad, smiling at him. “A man after my own heart, but a liar nonetheless.”

“What?” Vikna asks, any and all sadness disappearing at that very moment. “After all that, you were with five other girls in the past FIVE MONTHS?!”

She steps forward, now more confident when she has three sets of tasers pointed at the man.

“I can't believe I almost rooted for you! Are all those feelings just a lie? Those long nights after high school, MY FIRST TIME?!” She asks angrily.

“Should we prosecute her, sir?” One of the anthroids asks in a vaguely Stormtrooper-esque manner.

“Oh no, I'm having far too much fun.” Nytro replies with a chuckle. “This is more fun than teasing Red.”

“I love you, Vikna.” He says.

“Well, I LOVED you. Turns out that was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.” She says, looking back at Jack. “I could've given myself to someone like him instead, saved myself for a guy who was actually going to love and care for me! Not fuck me into a squealing mess every time he came over!”

“Vikna...”

“DON'T YOU FUCKING VIKNA ME!” She screams out, standing up as tall as her toes would let her. “I have been stabbed in the back literally and figuratively numerous times! I REFUSE to be fooled by anything like that again and this guy over here had to WORK for me.”

“Holy shit, Vikna...” Nytro says.

“I put a ring on his finger and he put a ring on mine. For you to come in like this and demand that I love you is fucking SACRILEGE!” She continues shouting. “I'd sooner die than let a scumbag homewrecker like you come in and ruin the best times of my entire life for a quick romp! So, if you'll FUCKING EXCUSE ME, I have a kitten to attend to!”

He looks back at Jack, who hasn't stopped looking at him the entire time she was going off. Det could see all he wanted to do was stab that knife through his skull, the anthroids make their way up to the canine and grabbing him before putting him in some extremely beefy looking cuffs. He's taken off into the elevator before being turned around, Jack having tracked him the entire way. When the doors close, Jack puts the knife away, his hair still sticking up as Tau continues to flow through him.

“You better let up before you pass out.” Nytro says. “I don't want to have to lift your fat ass onto a stretcher.”

“Too late for that.” He tells Nytro. “If I stop now, I'll pass out. I just need to check on my son really quick.”

Nytro is about to protest, but understands the need to protect his child. When Jack turns around, Fluff is grinning from weird ear thing to weird ear thing.

“Next time pop a squat and scream for an hour.” He says with a laugh.

“I'll try and remember.” Jack says, opening the door to a room covered in sword fighting posters and virtual news clippings of cases where Nytro's face is present. “How's he doing?”

“He'll be fine. I put some nanite bandages on his fingers and he'll be right as rain tomorrow. It's so nice to have modern medical equipment like this instead of having to rely on band-aids and time.” She replies.

“Daddy looks like a cartoon!” Franklin says excitedly, looking up at his still sparking and electrified father.

“Mind sharing one of those bandages?” Jack asks, showing Vikna his hands, 4 cuts being present on each hand.

“Sure, let me wrap them up real quick.” She says, taking out the black fabric as she stretches it out.

Vikna wraps the bandages around his outstretched hands, covering them both in Kaltag branded bandages before kissing the boo-boos to make them feel better.

“Thanks, I'm feeling better already.” He says. “I'll be asleep for a while. Ask Fluff about going on a tour of the galaxy. I want to go show people that I didn't go off without saying goodbye without good reason.”

“I...I will.” She says, obviously annoyed that he'd say something like that, but being somewhat happy that he wants to get out of the house. “It'll be like a big family trip across the stars.”

Franklin laughs at that as Jack smiles, making his way out of the room. Nytro watches as the man walks over to the room he and his wife were sharing last night, shaking his head as the man gets inside, closing the doors behind him. When he makes it inside, he walks over to the fridge and opens it, grabbing a water bottle and downing the entire thing. He didn't know how long he'd be asleep, so he wanted to get everything out of the way right now. He grabs another and downs that one as well, grabbing some nutrient bars from a rack above the fridge. He cracks 2 of the bars open, eating them both on top of each other as the compressed food stuffs go down the hatch. He smiles, making his way over to the toilet to get rid of any excess before making his way back to the bed. He could already feel his consciousness slipping as the power the Tau gave is now taking away. He makes it to the bed and manages to cover himself out before he passes out.

Nytro makes his way over to his room, turning into it to see Vikna holding her son, which they named Frankanin or something. The kid looks around at all the memorabilia Nytro had collected and had sitting in a storage unit way out in the sticks. He smiles when he sees Nytro, pointing to you as Vikna chuckles awkwardly and rubs the back of her head.

“Mommy, he has a kitty eye!” The boy says. “He's really cool looking!”

Nytro's about to say something, but realizes he's being complimented. About being a hybrid! He can't help but smile back, having just felt something he hadn't felt in years now. A genuine sense of pride in both his species'.

“You know, that was really brave of you to stick up for your mom like that.” He says with a smirk, squatting down to meet the toddler. “You gave your dad the time to get up and keep that bad man in place.”

“Daddy said he wanted to kill the bad man. Why?” He asks.

“Because he tried to kill you.” Nytro replies. “Your dad loves you very much, and when that mean man tried to hurt you, he knew that man was bad. Has he told you what he did before you were born?”

“He said he was a soldier, but better!” The feline replies with a bright smile. “I can't say the name and I can tell daddy was getting frustartated.”

“He's not on big words yet.” Vikna replies. “It should come to him after some schooling.”

“Well, since you know, did you know that him and I used to be in a war together?” Nytro asks. “We were...friends is too strong of a word. We knew each other.”

“Wow! Are you the real Nytro?” Franka-Franki-Frank asks.

“He talks about me?” Nytro asks in return. “Uh, yeah, that's me.”

“Oh my gosh! Dad said you were so fast you could cut bullets in half with your sword!” Frank says excitedly, making Nytro blush.

“It was only a few times...” He says, looking off to the side as Vikna smirks.

“Then he told me you taught him to use a sword really good! He showed me with a scarecrow!” Frank continues. “He said he wasn't even half as good as you are, mister Nytro!”

“Your kid sure is a charmer.” Nytro says with a smirk, regaining his composure. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say your dad had a crush on me.”

“Ew, gross!” Frank says, sticking out his tongue. “Cooties!”

Nytro gets off the floor and looks over at Vikna, who shrugs.

“He'll learn at his own pace what he wants.” She says. “We're not gonna force anything on him.”

“You even sound different too.” Nytro says. “Never really heard it until now. Well, you can stay and watch or you can leave and sleep with your husband.”

“Nytro...” She says, glancing at her kid, who's puzzled by his vagueness.

“O-oh, oops.” He says, having completely forgot about the kid in the minute he wasn't talking to him. “I was just going to...polish...my...never mind. Just go run along. I need some time alone or I'm gonna go crazy again.”

“Alright, have a good day mister Nytro!” Frank says, blissfully unaware of what he just said.

Vikna takes Franklin out of the room and sighs with relief, seeing the elevator at the other end of the hall open up. There she sees the familiar face of her favorite Germanic friend, standing in the doorway with her tongue hanging out a bit. She has a few bags with her, but drops them as soon as she sees Vikna, smiling ear to ear.

“Vikna!” She says, breaking into a sprint as she runs down the hall.

“Zofie!” Vikna says in reply, catching Zofie and twirling her around a bit. “I didn't think you'd make it!”

“I was waiting down in the lobby for almost two hours because there was a lock down on the top deck.” She replies with a smile. “What was going on?”

“Det came back and revealed that all of our years together had been a lie.” Vikna replies. “He even got beefed up with a hundred percent increase in musculature to try and win me over.”

“So that's who they dragged out of the elevator?” She asks. “Gosh, why did they need to send up SS containment?”

Vikna just points up to the vaguely man shaped dent in the ceiling and on the side of the wall, Zofie cracking a smile before giggling a bit.

“I'm guessing Jack did that?” Zofie asks, continuing to giggle.

“Yeah, he did.” Vikna replies. “It was actually kind of scary.”

“Why?” She asks. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, but Det tried to hurt my son.” Vikna replies, pointing to Franklin.

“Oh my gosh, he's so cute!” Zofie says, crouching down a bit as her tail begins to wag furiously. “My name's Zofie, what's your name?”

“Franklin.” The feline replies with a giggle. “You're funny, Zofie.”

She whuffs a bit and gets up, looking back at Vikna.

“I guess that's not the only reason?” She asks, her tail having calmed down by now.

“Well...yeah. Det had this...aura around him. I haven't felt anything like it since I first saw Loki before he turned himself around.” She replies. “But the really scary part was Jack. There was absolutely no aura coming off him. It was so empty that I thought I was going to suffocate in the vacuum of feeling.”

“What do you mean? He killed people all the time back on Serko. Of course he doesn't feel anything.” Zofie says.

“Franklin, go wait with the bird man.” Vikna says, gritting her teeth at Zofie as she realized what she just said. “Zofie's being stupid.”

“Hmm?” He asks, having been looking around the room and not paying attention anyway. “But I don't like the bird man. His smile is scary.”

“Go be a big brave boy and mommy might get you something nice while we're here.” Vikna says.

“Okay!” He says, the promise of a present being enough to make him run back toward Rei.

“Alright, first off, he definitely shows remorse.” Vikna says, annoyed she needed to explain this for a THIRD time. “All those nights I'm attached to him are necessary because he'd go mental. He feels like absolute ass because of all the shit he's done. He usually has some sort of giveaway that means he doesn't want to do something. Closing his eyes for a bit too long, sighing, twitching eye, grit teeth, lots of things. His face was completely blank when he was face to face with Det. When he had that knife out, he didn't want to kill Det for me or Franklin anymore, he just wanted him dead.”

Zofie seems to understand and Vikna smiles, sighing with relief.

“He's been getting help, right?” She asks.

“Absolutely. Tomorrow he's going to visit one of the Tower psychologists before we head out on a victory tour.” Vikna replies. “I won't let him go anywhere without having enough medication for the trip.”

“Ayn told me about the amount of pills he takes.” Zofie says, chuckling a bit. “She said he took ten horse pills every day just to be a functioning person.”

“It's more like two horse pills and a few regular pills now.” Vikna says with a smile. “I've been dying to get back here so he can finally get the one pill we have specifically designed for severe PTSD. It's like he punishes himself on purpose.”

“I'm glad he's getting help.” She says. “How about you? Are you doing okay?”

“I'm doing great. All those recipes you sent me before Rei closed off the data portal are amazing. They're so easy to make that even I can make them.” Vikna replies. “Everybody loves them too, except when I burn them. I've burned all of them at least once.”

“Even the salad?” She asks, knowing she can't possibly have burnt something that's not supposed to be cooked.

“Yes, even the salad.” Vikna replies.

“How do you burn salad?!” Zofie asks, genuinely dumbfounded. “It's SALAD!”

“I...thought it would taste better warm...” Vikna replies, looking down at the floor.

“Well, it's a mistake you only make once.” She says. “You did only try it once, right?”

Vikna blushes and looks away, Zofie's disappointment manifesting in the form of a smack to her own face.

“You know, somehow, you're worse than ARA.” She says, holding the hand up to her face as she slowly drags it down the side of her muzzle. “That's an achievement in and of itself.”

Vikna lets out a cat-like chirp in response, not able to do anything but make cat noises.

“Well, how about I go make some food. I helped design my room up here and it has a fully functioning kitchen. It's more like a kitchen with a bed than a bedroom with a kitchen.” Zofie tells her, brightening the mood a bit.

“I hope you don't mind. My son slept with ARA last night. She kept him in place, but the bed sheets might be a bit ruffled.” Vikna says.

Zofie's entire face goes completely red and Vikna realizes what she just said.

“N-not like that!” She tells Zofie, her own face going red. “L-let's just go make some food...”

20 hours later

Jack wakes up with an empty feeling around him, making him feel sad when he opens his eyes. He looks around the room and hears the shower going in the bathroom. His mouth is dry and his stomach aching for food, prompting him to turn himself out of bed. His entire body ached from head to toe and just about the only thing that wasn't burning was his head. When he gets up, he makes it to the fridge and opens it up, grabbing one of the red electrolyte drinks and tearing the cap off. He chugs the drink down as he hears the door open to his side, a familiar canine entering the room with a tray of food. She turns toward Jack and he stops chugging the drink, the two of them locking eyes for a second as Zofie looks him up and down quickly. She blushes and Jack gives her a thumbs up, downing the rest of the drink before tossing it in the waste basket.

“What's up?” He asks with a smile. “Haven't seen you in years.”

“Y-you look...uh...” She stutters, unable to think while she looks him over again. “C-clothes.”

Jack looks down and sees he's only wearing his underwear, which makes him blush as well.

“Uh, let me get dressed...” He says, turning away from her as he makes his way towards a bag.

He can hear the dishes clattering on the tray as she doesn't take her leave. He puts on another striped polo shirt and jeans, turning back to Zofie when he's fully clothed.

“S-sorry for barging in.” She says, having calmed down considerably. “I saw what you did out there.”

“Is that asshole dead yet?” Jack asks, almost on autopilot.

“No, they're putting him in prison.” She replies, setting the food down on a little wooden table. “I know you must be starving and I know you need to eat at least a few thousand calories a day to keep going. I made you something high in protein and essential vitamins. The vitamins part was just ARA crushing one of those one-a-day vitamin tabs into the oatmeal. Doesn't actually add any taste to it though.”

“Thanks Zofie. I appreciate the food.” He says, grabbing the tray off the table and sitting back down on the bed. “How's the bakery going?”

“I actually bought a new store and turned my little bakery into a business!” She says excitedly, sitting down beside him. “I've got a guy named Dor working the new location.”

“How's business at both of the stores?” Jack asks, beginning to eat the oatmeal.

“Never better. Thanks to you basically advertising to the entire galaxy, I have a two day waiting period on cakes, even with two stores!” She replies with a smile. “I had to take a break from it all yesterday because I was feeling a bit overworked. I've been working for literally over three years straight! Store's going to be closed for a month while Dor takes all the orders. Being my own boss really is the best.”

“I bet.” He replies. “I'm still technically a Marine and got a promotion when I went through MARSOC school.”

“What's that?” She asks. “I didn't think the military had schools. I would've joined up if that were the case.”

“It's an eleven month program where I learned how to effectively lead men through a variety of different areas and situations. I basically combined the best of Earth's training with the best of my abilities.” Jack replies. “Went half way around the globe and got trained by the SAS in a few of the same areas.”

“I've heard of them before! One of them lives in my town.” She says. “He said he knew you from camp Garland.”

“Was his name Rodney?” Jack asks. “He was the only guy in the SAS I knew by name.”

“Yep, he pets me every time he comes into my shop.” She says with a smile. “Dell doesn't like him, but there's not really anything he can do about it. Rodney is just too intimidating. He really loves the Genocri doughnuts and Salthion berry pies.”

“I knew he was a man of taste.” Jack says after returning the smile, downing the last of the oatmeal before moving to the eggs and bacon. “Any other humans that live there?”

“Lots and lots of special forces came to the old world district. They tried renaming it to the ancient world district, but that was shot down almost immediately.” She says, stealing a piece of bacon and munching on it. “I heard a lot of Marines and a couple guys from Delta Force settled there too. When I asked, they said it was the only place that reminded them of an actual town rather than a 'furry utopia' as they put it.”

Jack nods and continues to eat the eggs, hearing the shower turn off as he shoves all of the bacon into his mouth at once.

“Feels like I haven't eaten in days.” Jack says, wiping his hand off with a napkin. “Thanks, Zofie.”

“Guess I should get going before Vikna comes out naked. She still does that, right?” Zofie asks.

“Yep, might want to hurry, she's drying off as we speak.” He replies.

“I'll see you onboard the battle cruiser!” She says excitedly.

He nods back at her and she exits the room with haste, just as Vikna comes out of the bathroom completely naked. She's humming to herself, having not noticed he's up before picking up a box of things off the floor. When she makes her way over to the bed, she looks over at him and smiles.

“Morning.” She says, making her way over to him with the box and planting a loving kiss on his cheek. “I see Zofie made breakfast. I also see you saved none for me.”

“Thirty five hundred calories a day.” Jack says with a smile. “You approved our trip?”

“Of course I did. You're getting out of the house and getting proper medical treatment for your disability. Not to mention you're showing people you care about them. I even brought all your things to get you dressed up. I haven't seen you wear these in years.” Vikna replies, holding up the box of things. “Don't worry, I followed Ayn's instructions and kept the lights off in the barn. I don't want to know what kind of things lurk on those walls where I can't see.”

He's about to protest her going into the barn, but he realizes she just went in to gather his things and not snoop. He smiles and rubs the top of her head a bit, earning a content sigh from Vikna.

“I'll get myself ready.” He says, getting up and stripping out of his freshly donned clothing.

“Mmm, giving me a show so early in the morning~?” She asks. “Very naughty.”

Jack smirks at that, knowing exactly what she wants to see. He takes off his shirt slowly, tantalizing Vikna as the striped shirt comes off his torso. He flicks it away and gives a very slight flex of his back muscles, Vikna cooing at the display as he turns back around. She gets up to touch, but Jack stops her, pushing her back down on the bed.

“No touching yet.” Jack says with a smile, undoing the belt slowly. “Only when everything is off.”

She humphs, crossing her arms as he flicks the belt across the room. He watches as she bites her lower lip as he unbuttons his jeans, letting the zipper come down all the way before beginning to shed the restrictive piece of clothing. Vikna begins whining as her fingers make their way down to her crotch, covering herself up as the excitement starts driving her wild.

“I hate it when you tease me...” She says, biting her lip as he throws the pants off to the side. “Can I?”

He nods and she pounces on him, making the man step back a bit as she begins rubbing every inch of her body on his nearly naked form. She pulls him into a desperate kiss, wanting to spear his throat with her tongue as he fights her back with his own augmented appendage. Why they augment every single muscle in the body is a mystery, but it makes Jack happy and Vikna very much the opposite when she can't throat fuck him with her tongue. She begins moaning into his mouth as she feels all the lust wash away, just from being held by him. When she's calmed down enough, she lets go, sliding down to the ground as she puts a finger between her legs. Her fur comes out somewhat moist, but not extremely soaked like she thought it would be.

“God, you're so hot.” Jack says with a smile, pecking her on the top of her head. “Go dry yourself off and get in uniform. I'm sure Fluff is going to let you captain the thing, since it's one of your life goals.”

“You really think so?” She asks.

“If he doesn't, I'll have a word with him.” Jack replies. “Now go. I need to get myself ready. Can't be a first mate when I look like a beach douche.”

She giggles at that and walks back off to the bathroom.

“You owe me later.” She says with a wink.

He nods and opens the box, setting her own uniform out on the bed and beginning to don his own.

30 minutes later

Jack finishes donning the uniform, having mounted his holster and sword before he grabs the pristine Springfield from the wall. He checks that the weapon is unloaded and unloads it completely before continuing, setting the rounds on a desk before standing at a position of attention. He looks up at the ceiling, seeing it's definitely high enough to perform the drills he had practiced in the barn for nearly 2 years straight. The gun he has in his hand is thrown into the air, twirling about before he catches it mid fall, stomping a foot down as the butt of his rifle connects to ground at the same time. He then spins the rifle around his hand, keeping it spinning for an impressive amount of time before stopping it with his hand. The loud clack it makes echoes throughout the room, Jack rocking the gun back and forth before standing at the position of attention.

Vikna steps out of the bathroom, hair being freshly brushed and pulled into a pony tail as Jack continues to march in place, perplexing her before he throws his gun in the air. Her cheeks clench before he catches the rifle in his hands, a smile flashing before returning to a blank and rigid face. He begins spinning the gun around like a dangerous, bayonet tipped top before stopping it with a satisfying clack. He then slams the gun down into the floor with another clack in line with his foot hitting the floor, turning about face and walking toward the door. He's swinging the gun as he moves, bringing it up to his chest as he puts it in one shoulder, then the other. The door opens and he slaps his side with a clap, marching out the door as she sees Franklin watching in awe. He runs up to Jack and he has just enough time to stop the bayonet before it hits Franklin, having frozen the drill. He twirls the gun back to a position on his left shoulder with rigid authority before relaxing a bit, petting his son on the head quickly before quickly returning to the routine.

When he begins making his way to the front desk, the receptionist sees him in his dress blues and the show he's putting on. He continues moving forward as he sees two humans, a man and a woman, as well as Fluff sitting down in the waiting area. The clacking of the rifle hitting his palm alerts all three as Fluff looks back to see Franklin mocking his dad's movements. It was definitely a sight to behold, that is until the rifle is flung up into the air. He clenches hard and feels his other self do the same, waiting for the rifle to embed itself in the ceiling, or worse. Fortunately, it just misses the ceiling as Jack catches it, Kifa giving him a small round of applause as he stands at attention. Franklin stands beside him his tail standing straight up as he gives a very tough look. The feline eventually breaks down into a giggle fit, which causes Jack to smile wide, pulling his son up to him as he slings the rifle over his shoulder.

“Were you mocking your daddy?” He asks with a smile, rubbing underneath Franklin's chin.

“I was doing the same thing you were daddy!” He says. “The bird man says we're leaving in ten minutes!”

Jack chuckles at that and bird-Fluff gets up, looking back at the two humans before turning back to Jack.

“That thing's not loaded, is it?” He asks.

“You think I'm dumb enough to drill using a loaded rifle?” Jack asks. “Don't answer that.”

Jack lets Franklin down and the feline runs back down the hall, seeing Vikna holding a large bag, which he offers to carry. The tiny feline takes the bag from her mom as Jack watches in astonishment, seeing him able to actually carry the weight, if just barely.

“Strong kid.” Fluff says. “Just like his dad.”

“He's not just like his dad. He's better.” Jack corrects. “With any luck, he won't be anything like me.”

Fluff shakes his head as the two of them turn to the hallway, seeing the elevator open up.

“My stuff's already packed. I'll be leaving myself here to take over while I'm gone.” He says. “Let's go show the galaxy that the Gunny lives. People are spreading rumors that you died after the war in some kind of hover car crash.”

“Joke's on them. I can't drive hover cars.” Jack says, making his way down the hall as Vikna throws a bag at him, catching the bag. “Thanks honey.”

“Knew you'd forget.” She tells him. “All of your stuff is inside, including that other gun you brought along. Yes, I know how to take it down and yes I wrapped the upper in plastic wrap. It's not going to get the bag all dirty.”

“Thanks babe.” He says, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

“Hey, Vikna, I have a favor to ask you.” He says as the three of them walk toward the elevator.

“Hope it's nothing sexual.” She says.

“Funny.” He says, rolling his eyes. “I was going to ask if you could captain the ship for me. I didn't really think far enough ahead when I had it commissioned a couple years ago. I can't find anyone to pilot it and Radoslav's being a jackass about letting people captain naval star ships without prior military experience. Everybody's sitting in their own ships right now and new cadets are all with them getting their first few years of experience.”

“Wait, are you saying that I get to captain one of the biggest space faring vessels in the galaxy?” She asks, stopping to see if she misheard him.

“I'm sure that's what I said.” He replies with a smile. “You'll need a crash course on-”

“I don't need a crash course on anything. I spent the last ten years of my life reading the captain's manual for a battle cruiser class star ship. I know all the ins and outs of captaining, maintaining, and even crewing one of these vessels.” She interrupts. “Unless you drew a new ship class for some arbitrary reason.”

“Super heavy battle cruisers are still being phased into the Empire's grand strategy. Right now they're used as breakthrough vessels where not even a battle cruiser can punch through. Huge cannons that are almost a meter wide and magnetically assisted. They basically fire an FTL slug at enemy ships.” He says with a grin. “Was a direct response to the threat posed by the large cluster of battle cruisers that were taken over above Katric. The captains have to have unquestioning loyalty to Katric and the Empire, which most people who commanded the captured vessels didn't have. Guess I forgot to remove that little artifact before everything...exploded.”

Jack nods and hits the button for the floor they all needed to arrive at, the elevator closing and taking them all down to the desired floor.


	3. Chapter 2: Forgotten memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. It takes me a while to go over these with a fine toothed comb and I've been busy doing other things as of late. I have a few more chapters being given the same treatment right now, so I'll probably have everything I have out sometime this week.

Chapter 2: Forgotten memories

20 minutes later

“-so then, I just woke up inside my body and found out I had a psychic link to this world. Don't know how everyone else got there, but I thought it was pretty cool.” He finishes with a smile. “Thought I already told you this.”

“Wait, others?” Jack asks. “What do you mean, others?”

“Oh, oh...” He says, looking down at the floor. “I...I wasn't supposed to say anything about that.”

“Is someone threatening you?” Jack asks, unslinging the rifle before looking around suspiciously. “What's going on?”

“Well, cat's out of the bag now.” He says. “Alright, the guy said that as soon as I tell you what happened, the memory replacements will fall apart and you'll remember everything. You were here back in 2015. You...met Vikna and...well...did your thing.”

“What? I was in Afghanistan in 2015.” He says, puzzled by what he meant.

“If you don't remember that, then why do you keep drawing blue boxes on every other drawing you make?” He asks.

“I dunno. Just like the show.” Jack replies. “I make lots of space themed stuff and it just became an easter egg.”

“Well, what about the word...Lavor?” He asks.

Jack feels an itching sensation inside of his brain, scratching at the back of his head in hopes of relieving the feeling, but it doesn't subside. All the memories come flooding back as he looks down at Vikna, mouth agape as she looks up at him with a confused expression.

“You okay?” She asks, having not been paying attention before now.

He pulls her into a hug with a quickness that's unlike him, forcing her into a kiss that she eventually gives in to.

“Let's give your mommy and daddy some space.” Fluff says, taking Franklin along as the two lovers both step into the Captain's quarters. “Let's go visit the galley.”

Jack closes the door behind them, throwing the bag and rifle down on the floor as his tongue continues to violate Vikna as she's powerless to stop him. He takes off his belt as he pushes her back onto the bed, Stripping out of the upper part of his uniform in an extremely rushed manner. Vikna begins stripping too, her cheeks flush and her panties beginning to soak through.

“Zofie didn't take my first time.” He says, breaking the kiss as he pulls down his pants. “You did. I always knew there was something more to us than just liking each other.”

“What?” Vikna asks, slowing herself down. “What do you you mean?”

“Remember Lavor?” He asks. “The guy in the blue box that's totally not copyrighted?”

She cocks her head at it, but seems to remember everything as she smiles brightly.

“Give me a refresher, big guy~.” She says with a smile.

16 years ago

Jack is sitting down in a dugout he made, sighing gently after folding his e-tool up. He was going to be camping out in the middle of some field for the night. He felt a part of his soul leave him yesterday, since he wasted those two men who were caring for their farm one minute and shooting at them with Enfields the next. He wanted the tour to be over already. No more waltzing around Afghanistan with enough weaponry to turn a village into dust. No more shooting at people and destroying their livelihoods. He just wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed, dammit. It was a full moon tonight, lighting up his grave with moonlight before he heard an explosion sound just behind him. He doesn't feel any shrapnel or dust get kicked up as he darts up, racking the machine gun back and forth as his lazy assistant gunner groans.

“What are you doing, Haigs?” The man asks.

“Didn't you hear that?!” Jack whisper-asks, looking around for the crater. “Don't fuck with me, man.”

“I didn't hear nothing.” He says, laying back in the foxhole. “Go to sleep or pull watch, you fat fuck.”

Jack isn't content that he didn't hear anything, flicking down his NODs and seeing nothing in the distance or around the farm house that could've caused it. He knows he's not crazy just yet, so he gets out of the hole and scans with the heavy as fuck machine gun. The belt clinks back and forth as he turns on his IR strobe so he wouldn't get shot. The men on guard raise their rifles to him, but see his strobe and immediately lower them. He makes his way over to the private on watch, looking around before speaking.

“Did you hear that?” Jack asks. “The massive explosion?”

The Marine responds with a negatory grunt, shaking his head before looking around the field before giving him an “are you okay?” grunt.

“I'm fine, I'm going to investigate what's going on. Radio it in.” Jack says, getting back up and walking toward the farm house.

When he gets within 200 meters of it, he sees the farmer burst out of his hut, yelling and shouting about something as Jack puts on the gas, rushing over to the frightened man. When he stops himself in front of the man, the Arabic language is panicked and he's pointing to his house with a sawed off Enfield in the other hand. Jack nods, seeing a few more Marines getting up and rushing over to the man. Jack gets out his book and flicks his NVGs down, finding a bookmark labeled “guns down!!!”

“Tasqatuha!” Jack whispers loudly, pointing to his gun. “They'll kill you!”

He nods, tossing the gun to his side as Jack makes his way into the farm house. When he enters and looks around, the farmer comes in with him. Jack looks back and sees 2 riflemen trailing behind him, seeing nothing inside the farm house. The farmer then rushes in front of him, pointing to the spot he was standing and then toward the door. The riflemen are alarmed, but Jack makes his way to where the farmer is standing. When he looks back to where the Farmer was looking, his eyes go wide. A perfectly round circle stands up straight in the air, showing a metallic hallway filled with blue light and signs he couldn't read. He raises his MG and moves forward before he hears others readying their weapons.

“Haigs, put the gun down!” One yells.

Jack puts the gun down and walks to the the other side of the portal, seeing the Marines tracking him with their rifles.

“Come over here.” He says, pointing over to the farmer. “This is some kind of portal or something.”

He leads the men over to the other side of the portal and points to it, the men giving it the same look he did.

“What the fuck?” One of them asks, walking back to the other side. “Is this some kind of poorly mapped geometry, but in real life?”

“I think it's a portal.” The other says.

“Call Dad and tell him we're investigating an anomaly. Get the CIA on the line and tell them what is going on.” Jack tells them. “If this is one of their toys that got loose, they probably want to know where it went. Simon, stack up on me. We gotta check this out.”

The tall and slender man nods, putting a hand on Jack as they both make their way toward the portal. Jack steps inside first, feeling the arm removing itself from his shoulder. When he looks back, the portal is no longer there, having vanished into thin air. He looks around the two sides of the hall, seeing a few doors on the sides and two corners at either end of the hall. When he looks back, he sees a door right in front of him with illegible script in a bright red box. He then hears the familiar clack of high heels coming down one end of the hall, making him panic as he doesn't know what could be in store. There's nowhere to hide and nowhere to really run, so he walks up to the door and looks around it for a way inside. A small hologram pops up with characters he can't even begin to ID, so he begins pressing random buttons as the clacking gets louder. When the keypad lights up green, he sees a foot cross out from the corner, the door in front of him splitting as he dashes inside. When he makes his way in, the door closes and a sister keypad flashes red, probably indicating the door is locked again.

When Jack turns around, he's face to face with a...what the fuck? Is that a furry? A blue and white one no less. She's sprawled out on the bed, one hand sticking itself between her legs and another stuck inside her mouth. She's staring back at Jack with wide, feline eyes, the room being pretty moodily lit as they both lock eyes. She's stunned, not moving an inch as the belt on Jack's weapon sways back and forth gently. A blush begins slowly manifesting on her face as she slowly pulls her fingers from her muzzle. Her eye twitches a bit and her hand reaches toward the nightstand, Jack automatically raising his weapon in response. She then begins stuttering in an alien language as she understands what the massive gun means, no longer reaching for the weapon. After stuttering turns to yelling and screaming, she realizes the man can't understand her, so she points to the door. He looks back at the door quickly and keeps the gun pointed at her, reaching for the keypad and trying to touch the same sequence of buttons again. It doesn't work and the ears on the feline fold back as Jack keeps her in his sights.

Her eyes dart around the room, looking for something before she whines a bit, shoving her fingers down into her groin again. She begins preoccupying herself with self pleasure as she looks back at Jack with glazed eyes, squeaking and moaning as she spreads her legs fully. He'd never seen a pussy in person before, much less being presented to him by a real cat lady. She continues shoving her fingers in and out of the engorged and puffy opening, the lips being so red they seem to glow. There's fluid leaking out at an impressive rate, coating her sex and the bed in a thin coating of reflective juices. When she rolls over, she goes a bit too far and falls off the bed with a cry, fingers still firmly planted inside her folds. She looks back at the man with defeat in her eyes, spreading herself out to him. Is she seriously offering him sex? He lowers his GPMG and lets it rest on the home made sling, not sure of how to respond. 

She takes one of her hands out and points to his crotch before pointing back to her leaking faucet of a sex that's already dripping onto the floor. Jack motions with his hands adjacent to each other and closes them in a bit, suggesting that he's not...properly equipped. She yells at him in the alien language, rolling her eyes before repeating the gesture. He sighs, letting down his gun and beginning to undo his vest. He wasn't gonna find someone who would ever love him and hookers cost too much for a grunt's salary. The eyes on the cat light up and she begins chuckling, moving her ridiculously long tail from side to side as she spreads her lips with her fingers in a Vee. When he drops the vest gently, he feels like a million dollars as he strips out of his breathable shirt. She looks him over and looks pleasantly surprised, if her facial expressions are to be believed. When he looks down at his trousers and back to her, she follows his eyes and her surprised facial expression is replaced with minor disappointment. Sucks to be her, it was him or back to fingering herself.

When he drops his pants, he reveals his significantly underwhelming length, knowing that at least his girth was normal for men of his age. He strips his pants away, along with his boots as he makes his way toward her, not knowing what would happen when he sticks it in. Whatever, he was stupid enough to step through the portal and now he was going to die to some alien disease from some ice blue cat girl. Better than dying in a sandbox with a bunch of sweaty and rowdy social rejects. When he kneels on the ground, he sees her snatch is winking rapidly, her fingers just barely keeping the slit open for him. As his small pecker lines up with her glazed hole, she pushes herself back on him while her cunny devours his cock. He's struck with so much pleasure that he falls on top of the feline, her soft fur comforting him as the cat girl lets out a small yelp. She looks back at him and holds up her hand, producing a single, clawed finger. Jack struggles to understand what it could mean in his pleasure wracked state, but he eventually settles on her asking if it's his first time. He nods, holding up one finger and she sighs with disappointment. She wraps her tail around him as she looks off to the side, her bottom lip being bit as she pulls herself back and pushes against him.

She beckons him to continue and he nods, his knees feeling weak under the intense pleasure her pulsating pink pussy was producing. An electric feeling completely encircled his entire being, but he had the strange urge not to blow all at once, no matter how good it might feel. He felt like it'd be bad for his immediate well being to do so. He relaxes himself and begins thrusting, the electric feeling of having actual sex for the first time being uncomfortable and sudden to say the least. He honestly was not going to enjoy this orgasm at all if he didn't slow his pace. The feline, however, was loving every second of it. Crying out with every thrust as she tightens her tail around his hips. This spurred him onward, smiling at her as she lays her head on the floor, a slutty, open-mouth expression being spread across her face. Every slap and squelch inside her velvety snatch made her pant and moan wildly, smiling a dopey smile at the human as he desperately tries not to cum. She was tugging and pulling on his member with wild abandon, squealing and moaning with every slow thrust. Every time he tries to pull out, her pussy tries to pull him back in as her tail does its best to restrict his movement. As the seconds of this went by, the uncomfortable feeling of fucking someone soon gave way to an ecstatic feeling of pleasure he'd never felt before.

The brand new feeling of actually having sex with someone brought new insight to the young Marine. The velvety texture of her pussy, the lubrication making every thrust feel like there was no effort involved, and the pulsating sex of the feline that was trying to milk him for all he's worth. His breathing became more erratic as he felt a slight tingling and pressure building in his balls, which he knew was the signal that he was about to blow. He's losing himself in the presence of this feline, groaning and moaning outside of his own volition as the feline's slutty look entices him further. Her tongue lolls out of her mouth as she arches her back, slamming her hips into Jack's crotch with a loud slap, feeling her try to squeeze the life out of his dick. The sudden pressure makes him lose concentration, accidentally blowing inside her as the rush of an orgasm brings the man down on top of the feline. He paints the inside of her walls alabaster white, feeling her doubling the milking efforts as he feels something kiss the tip of his cock. His prick pulsates in pure bliss as he hugs the feline gently, coming down off an orgasm that was a bit less than ideal, but so much better than when he does it with his hands.

When the two of them roll onto their sides, he holds the feline in his arms while she purrs contently, wringing the last little drops of semen from his cock. He didn't know he had it in him to cum so much, but she sighs contently, laying there for a while as she holds his hand in her own.

“I...I know you can't understand me, but I wanted to thank you.” The feline says in perfect English. “I need to go find nitro now, but you can stay here if you want. I need another shot of cum if I want to get rid of this heat.”

She pushes his arms off her and pulls her tail out from under him, pulling herself off his short prick as a small globule of cum leaks down and out of her fuzzy white butt. There was much less cum than he thought would leak out and she notices his confusion, winking at him with a smile as her cunt does the same thing. Jack wants to say something, but he's still too weak. He has to say something or she's going to walk out in the hall with nothing on. She makes her way back to the door, but before she can open it, he manages to say something.

“Wait...” He says weakly.

She stops dead in her tracks, whipping around as her eyes go wide in surprise.

“Did you just say 'wait'?” The feline asks.

“C-clothes...” He replies weakly.

She blushes a bit, covering herself as she makes her way back to him, crouching on the floor as he looks back up at her admittedly beautiful form. She sees him admiring her and blushes a bit, smiling as she looks away from him.

“I...I don't know how we're talking, but I wanted to ask you to stay for a little while.” He says. “Please?”

“I need to get rid of this heat, mister alien.” She says. “I'll go crazy if I don't get another shot today.”

“I can go after a few minutes.” The Marine tells her. “Can you wait that long?”

“Wait, you didn't mean you were a one shot?” She asks in reply.

“Is that what you meant?” He asks, continuing the cycle of questions.

“Yeah.” She replies. “What'd you think it meant?”

“I thought you were asking if it was my...first time.” He replies, looking down at the floor.

He hears a gasp come from her and looks back up, seeing a remorseful look on her face.

“You gave up your first time just to help me with my heat?” She asks, getting down on the floor and sitting on her side.

“Yes.” He replies, not knowing what else to say. “I figure that nobody else is going to want me, so I might as well give myself to someone who needed it. You did need it, right?”

“Of course I did. I'm in heat.” She replies. “I-I even think it's starting to fade away too.”

“Oh, that's what you meant by heat. I thought you meant you were hot.” He says. “Not saying you're not! You're super hot!”

The feline giggles a bit, rubbing her hands along his arm.

“You're sweet for a soldier.” She says, looking back at all the things he had laying on the ground. “My name's Vikna, what's yours?”

“Jack. Pleasure to meet you, Vikna.” He says, holding out a hand.

She takes it and shakes it, Jack getting up off the floor and turning the handshake into a helping hand. He hefts the surprisingly light feline off the floor, seeing she's just short of a foot smaller than him.

“Where'd you come from?” Vikna asks. “How'd you get here?”

“I was in some farmer's house and stepped through a portal.” Jack replies. “It disappeared behind me, even though I had a guy right behind me.”

Vikna bites her lip at that and Jack blushes a bit, both of them looking off to the side.

“I need to bring you up to someone.” She says, bringing his gaze back to hers. “Get yourself dressed. Be warned, I'm not nearly as nice as I am in here when I'm out there. If I say anything mean, just know that I'm only doing it to keep up appearances. I'm an officer after all.”

Jack tenses up and stands at the position of attention, giving her a salute as she backs up a bit from the display.

“Lance Corporal Haigs at your service, ma'am!” He sounds off.

“Is that a high rank?” She asks.

“No, ma'am.” He replies, his personality having shifted to rigid militarism instead of awkward virgin, which she can respect.

“Don't do that in here.” She says. “You'll give yourself a stroke.”

He nods, no longer standing at attention as he looks her over. Her perfectly adequate cleavage, her slender yet muscular frame, her shapely ass and thighs, it was all more than he deserved for his first time.

“You're really pretty, you know that?” He asks almost on autopilot before covering his mouth.

Vikna's ears flick back and forth as she blushes again, smiling as she shifts back and forth a bit.

“You're really bold, you know that?” She asks, mirroring his saying before realizing what she said.

“It's more because I'm...never mind. It doesn't matter right now.” He says. “I'll be dressed in two minutes or less.”

“Not before you wipe yourself down you're not. Peppermint is a dead give away and I'm not about to get teased by everyone on the deck because you didn't want to wipe.” She says, grabbing a handy towel from the side of her bed. “Wipe yourself down, sailor.”

“Aye, ma'am.” He replies, doing what he was told in an orderly fashion.

He feels the towel tickle him as a strange white fuzz makes its way from the towel, running up and down his crotch before going back into the white piece of cloth.

“Nanite infused towel.” She tells him. “Really handy for when you need to get rid of stench as well as wetness.”

He smells the towel and it definitely smells like peppermint. He looks back at her and she smiles back, reaching for the towel. When she gets it, she wipes her fur and her pussy down, letting the towel fall down on top of the wet spot on the floor. Jack makes his way back to his clothes and begins hurriedly putting everything on, hoping he'll be able to make it back to his platoon in time for them to move out. A bit of sex was just what he needed to get himself out of the dumps.

1 hour later

Jack had been kept in the dark about exactly where they were, Vikna saying it might shock him a bit if he didn't have adequate time to prepare. He was prepared for literally anything at this point, having just fucked a walking, talking, two legged cat lady until both of them climaxed, which she made a point of letting him know she did. When the elevator door finally opens, a couple of anthros are already present with...another human? He can hear a man with a glowing green thing in his hand rambling on about something while a red white and black feline looks him over, unsure of what to do with him. There's also a tall bird with the feline as the man paces around what looks to be a waiting room with a few floating chairs and a receptionist's desk. When the two of them make it into the room, Jack's massive MG falls out of his hands as he recognizes the man.

“Doc?” Jack asks.

“I am not the Doctor, stop calling me that.” The man says, irritated as he scans the blue bird with a sonic screwdriver. “I'm the Lavor. Lavors and Doctors are completely different things. One heals people and the other solves problems. It's like comparing a detective to a nurse.”

He flicks the screw driver out and a smile comes over his face.

“You're actually an avian. That's lovely!” He says, scanning the red white and black feline next. “And you, oh ho ho, you, my lovely girl, are an android!”

“Corrective statement, I am technically an anthroid or a gynoid, but your colloquial term also fits!” The 'anthroid' tells the Lavor. “Appreciative tone, I appreciate your compliment!”

The bird turns around to see Jack standing there with a gun hanging from his shoulder, Vikna making her way past him as he adjusts his helmet.

“Holy shit, give me a second.” The man says, holding his head as he feels the suddenness of all this make his head spin.

“Don't swear like a sailor just because you are one!” The Lavor tells him. “Now, why don't we start with your name.”

“Name's Jackson, but you can call me Jack.” The human replies. “What's going on here?”

“This avian over here created a highly unstable rift between universes all over the multi-verse.” Lavor replies, scanning all over the place. “Borton readings are non existent, but there's definitely something much more powerful that my DSCIT can use as a substitute. Unfortunately, that substitute only goes out to the galaxy's edge and drops off rapidly from there. So, I'm stuck in this galaxy until we can find a way to fix this.”

“We?” Jack asks.

“No, you're far too stupid to understand something this complex.” He replies. “I mean the bird fellow and I.”

“Oh...” Jack says. “Well, do you know when it will be done? I need to get back to my squad.”

“I JUST got here a few hours ago!” The Doc-er, Lavor replies. “I'm still trying to figure out and catalog all of this!”

“Sorry, I'll just go.” Jack replies.

“Wait!” The blue bird yells after him, stopping him dead in his tracks. “I need to talk with you.”

Jack turns back around again and makes his way over to the lobby, watching as the Lavor scans Vikna.

“You're definitely feline, but you have two legs.” He says. “This planet is very strange. I'm afraid if I rejuvenate here that I'll become one of you as well.”

Jack turns back, looking up at the blue bird with a smirk.

“It's like a Chinese knock off of Doctor Who.” He says, making the blue bird chuckle.

“I guess you really are human.” He says. “So, where were you before you came here?”

“Afghanistan.” Jack replies. “A portal appeared in some farmer's house and I was the only one allowed through.”

“Oh shit.” He says. “I messed up a variable. The only place a portal was supposed to pop up was in Florida. It was supposed to be five uses too, but I guess I...oh. Oooh. Oh that's not good.”

“What?” The Lavor and Jack ask simultaneously.

“I messed up a LOT of variables.” He says. “I think I messed up the time variable too.”

“Now I'm completely involved.” The Lavor tells him. “Gather up everyone you can find. I'll get back in my ship and do a scan of the galaxy for rifty wifty things. I'll localize it and bring the people back here. Focus on fixing that machine of yours while I gather everyone up.”

“No need. I already contacted people and this man was the last to come through. Zofie and Nytro are on their way now.” The bird says before looking at Jack. “God, that's going to get annoying. Name's Rei by the way, but you can call me Fluff.”

“Fluff?” Jack asks. “What's that for?”

“FluffKevlar, the artist.” He replies, smiling with pride. “I make...furry art.”

“I'm, uh, not into furries.” The human says. “Not normally.”

“Oh, I see.” He says, his mood visibly deflating. “Well, it'll be quite a while before we can get everything fixed. Two weeks minimum.”

“Two weeks?!” Jack asks. “My CO is gonna kill me!”

“You're active duty?” He asks.

“I literally just said I came from Afghanistan. Look at me, mother fucker! I have body armor and a fucking machine gun! Do you think that some random ass boot from a POG camp carries around a full ass ruck and five hundred rounds of ammo?!” Jack asks angrily before sighing. “Sorry, I've been a lot more angry than usual. I don't know why and I'm trying to keep it under control.”

“I...I see.” The blue bird tells Jack.

“What did I say about the swearing?” The Lavor asks.

“Fine.” Jack says, leaning against the wall. “Hey, uh, Vikna, you have any place I could buy a drink?”

“Your money isn't worth anything here.” She replies, looking back with an annoyed expression. “Besides, I don't want some rando buying me a drink.”

“Worried tone, miss Vikna, you must be more thoughtful. This man has probably seen a great deal of things, considering how primitive his weaponry appears to be.” She says. “It may not be my place, but I must implore that you follow the values you've instilled in me.”

Vikna just gives ARA a wink and the android...anthroid...thing winks back. She turns back to Jack and moves her hair out of the way.

“Come on, let's go find you somewhere to sleep. It's late and I'm sure you're tired. Surveillance showed you came out of a pretty dark place.” She says, as if she's doing this as more of a formality than out of good will. “Director, I'll be taking my leave. My duties will resume in the morning. Have a good night, sir.”

“Night, Vikna.” He says as Vikna walks along, the bird getting close to Jack's ear before he can go after her. “She's a sweetheart when you get to know her.”

“I already know.” Jack replies. “If I'm not careful, she might turn me into a furry too.”

He blushes at that and the Marine nods, walking after Vikna as the belt from his weapon sways with each step. When he gets inside and the doors shut, Vikna immediately softens up.

“Don't know if it's the good sex talking or what, but I feel like I can open up around you.” She says. “Maybe it's your innocence or your mannerisms, but I don't feel obliged to hold myself back.”

“Maybe it's because we're both sailors...to an extent.” He tells her, making an assumption based on her calling him a sailor. “I'm the person they assign to the ships to defend them while you're the one captaining them.”

“How'd you know?” She asks. “I just told you I was of high rank.”

“Your uniform had a ship on it, so I assumed you were in charge. You have a lot of ribbons on your collar too, so that's another giveaway.” He replies. “Also, what were you planning on doing with no clothes on? You were about to walk out into the hallway in nothing but the fur on your back.”

She blushes deeply, him having brought up the embarrassing incident again. She realizes that Nytro wasn't even on the space elevator either. He went back to Serko to resume his work. Good thing he was there to stop her or she would've done something really stupid. He looks around the elevator for a bit, scanning the corners and the ceiling in general before looking back at her with a smile. He puts a hand on top of her head and begins rubbing her gently, which almost makes her back away. Almost. Eventually she sits down on one of the provided seats, Jack sitting next to her as he continues to stroke her hair gently.

“Don't think I'm going to hop on your dick now that you're petting me and showing me a good time.” She says with a smile.

“I didn't even think about that. I just like petting you.” He replies with enough innocence to convince her he was telling the truth.

This was enough for her to finally give in, laying down in his lap as she begins purring.

“Oh my god, you purr.” He says excitedly, making Vikna giggle at him.

“It feels so good to just act like a girl.” She says. “This job made me mean and I hate that.”

“Do you not like your job?” He asks. “I thought being the captain of a sea fairing or space fairing vessel was a pretty nice job.”

“Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but...I just want to relax sometimes, you know?” She asks. “Showing any weakness to anyone around here is like pulling my pants down in the middle of a male shower and screaming 'fuck me' as loud as I can. Especially due to my height deficiency and lack of any real non-magical strength.”

“Wait, hold on. Magic?” Jack asks.

She smirks up at him, pulling herself off his surprisingly comfortable lap and out stretching her hand. She begins forming an ice crystal in the form of a snow flake as Jack watches in awe. When she finishes, it sits there, floating in mid air as she twirls her fingers around to make it spin.

“Can I...” He says, reaching a tentative hand out.

“You can grab it.” She says with a smile.

He nods, taking the ice crystal in his hand. It was surprisingly heavy for what it was, weighing almost as much as a loaded 249 belt box. He looks it over and runs his fingers over the sharp edges of the snow flake ice, the cold finally making its way through the gloves he wore.

“Where do I put this?” He asks.

“Just smash it.” She replies. “It's only water.”

“Are you sure?” He asks.

“I make tons of them. You won't miss it.” She says.

He nods, letting it fall on the ground as it breaks into a few pieces. She sighs, laying back down on his lap as he continues to stroke her gently. She wanted to stay like this forever, but she had a job to do and responsibilities to uphold. Vikna looks up at the elevator numbers and gets off his lap, standing up as Jack does the same. When it stops, the doors open to a sparsely dotted hallway, a few anthros walking down the halls with their eyes glued to data and holo-pads. As the two make their way to the quarters Vikna was using, she hears a loud thud at the end of the hallway.

“What's going on?” Jack asks.

“A fight.” She replies, her walk breaking into a run as Jack follows close behind.

When she rounds the corner first, she sees a small coyote female and male being stood over by a large lion of some kind, the coyote male already having a bloody nose.

“W-we don't want any trouble! Please, we just came here for work!” The coyote says in a fearful accent that's indicative of Serkonian origins, specifically Liertz. “D-don't hurt us!”

“You're always dropping the ball and the work flow of the office to zero and I've about had it! Getting reprimanded on a daily basis because you two can't get your shit together and stop knotting each other is getting really old!” The lion yells back.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Vikna asks angrily.

“K-Kavkor!” The female coyote says, hope in her eyes.

“I think you need to learn some respect, Photor!” Vikna yells. “Initiates are to be guided by the higher ranks, not looked down upon!”

“This is EXACTLY what I'm talking about!” The Photor shouts at the coyotes. “My ass gets reamed because you two are colossal fuck ups!”

“Photor Siltha, you get back to your post or I will send you to the brig for a MONTH!” Vikna shouts angrily.

“You'll have to make me first!” He yells, pushing the two coyotes out of the way. “If you can still stand!”

Vikna is about to channel Tau into her hand when Jack pulls her behind him, raising his massive gun in protest.

“GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!” He screams at the top of his lungs. “DO IT NOW!”

The lion stops momentarily, looking down at the man as he realizes the danger he's in.

“Now, we don't have to jump straight to guns-”

“DOWN ON THE FUCKING GROUND!” Jack screams, not letting up as she realizes this was instinct and training speaking, not rational thought.

“Photor, get down on the ground or he'll shoot you!” Vikna yells back at him.

The lion nods, getting down on the ground as Jack keeps the gun trained on him.

“Cover me, moving to restrain.” Jack says, slinging the heavy piece of equipment over his shoulder.

He makes his way over to the lion, pulling his arms behind his back forcefully as he produces a pair of plastic cable ties, pushing Photor Siltha's hands through the holes before tightening them. The lion tries to move his arms, but the plastic cuff-like devices prove to be much stronger than Vikna thought they were. The aggressiveness and apparent anger he displayed was enough to defuse the fight in the lion after his initial struggle with the cuffs, Jack putting pressure on his back with a knee to keep him down. Security rounds the corner and immediately takes the situation over from the man, who moves himself over to the dazed and confused coyotes.

“You two okay?” He asks. “Did he break anything?”

“N-no, just gave me a bloody nose.” The male coyote responds. “Thank you for your help, sir.”

“Name's Lance Corporal Haigs, but you two can call me Jack if you want.” The man says with a gentle smile. “Come on, let's get you both on your feet.”

He gets off the ground as Vikna watches him pull the two up, giving them a thumbs up when they're upright again. They smile and wave as they both run along, leaving the two to contend with security.

10 minutes later

After some brief explanations and calls to the Tower director, the two were finally left alone in the now shared bedroom. Vikna closes the door behind her and sighs, looking back at Jack.

“I had it under control.” She tells him. “I'm not defenseless.”

“I didn't think, I just acted.” Jack replies. “Sorry, I thought he was coming in too fast.”

“Well...thanks.” She says. “I'm really tired and I doubt my magic would've done much anyway.”

I...uh...I'm sorry if this is a little sudden, but I wanted to know if I could...well...you know...sleep in the bed with you.” He says. “No sex, I just...I haven't slept in a bed in almost seven months.”

Vikna looks back at him and sees he's already taken off most of his gear, leaving nothing but underwear and a T-shirt left on him.

“I can sleep on the floor if you want.” He continues. “I'm used to it.”

She sighs, closing her eyes and knowing she was going to regret doing this, just like every other time, but his words seem more sincere than many of the other people she's talked to.

“Fine, you can sleep with me. Nothing below the belt though.” She says. “I want to get to sleep. I have an AI to babysit tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay.” He says, barely able to contain his excitement. “Thank you.”

She smiles back at him and begins stripping out of her own claustrophobic uniform, letting it drop to the ground as she makes her way over to the bed.

“Oh, and no groping me.” She says. “People do that and say that I 'technically didn't tell them they couldn't', so I have to make myself clear.”

“Okay.” He replies, making his way over to the side of the bed Vikna wasn't...pleasuring herself on. “Night.”

“Good night.” She says with a smile, climbing up into bed as the man slides into bed with her, both of them falling asleep quickly.

14 hours later

Vikna slowly begins to flutter her eyes open, the artificial lighting inside the room telling her it was morning. When she tries to get out of bed and stretch herself out, she realizes she's being held in place by a previously unnoticed set of arms. She looks down and sees the familiar arms of the soldier from last night. At first she was upset that he was touching her, but she soon calms down when she realizes how good it feels to be held in a way that was completely innocent in its intentions. When she looks over at the clock on the night stand, she sees it reads 0830, meaning she had at least another hour before work officially started after her extended heat break. She didn't really need a shower and the man behind her smelled like her shampoo, her guessing that he got up in the middle of the night to shower. She smiles at that, happy he was able to figure out how the shower worked on his own. She turns herself around in his arms, seeing his eyes are still closed and his breathing is shallow. She puts an arm under him and another over him, nestling her head into the crook of his neck as she plans for the two of them lay there for a while.

After laying down for nearly half an hour, her alarm goes off, leading to Jack rubbing his eyes with one hand and grabbing Vikna's arm with the other. When he opens his eyes and realizes he's not holding what he thought he was, his eyes go wide with fear. He immediately removes his arms from her, pulling back away from her before realizing she wasn't mad. She giggles at that and he chuckles too, blushing a bit as he looks her over. He immediately averts his eyes when he realizes she wasn't wearing any clothes, the blush deepening as she slides her way toward him.

“Sorry, I don't wear any clothes when I sleep.” She says with a smile. “I hope my fur wasn't too coarse.”

“I don't know what you're talking about. I'd hold you all day long if time permitted.” He says, smiling back at her.

“Kavkor! You have work in half an hour! Get dressed and get moving!” A man yells on the other side of the door.

“Coming!” She yells back out before turning to Jack. “Let's get dressed. I have to take over for Varland.”

20 minutes later

Jack and Vikna enter the colorfully lit room, screens floating and glowing like holograms as they're moved and typed on by anthros with tails stuck to the floor. The room is buzzing gently as fans move cool air into the confined space, which felt nice to the native Michigander. The AI in question was being watched over be a canine of some sort, looking like a border collie of some kind. He turns back to face Vikna before looking at Jack, tensing up.

“W-what's that?” The collie asks Vikna.

“I'm just a guy.” Jack replies for her. “What are you?”

“J-just a guy...” The border collie replies. “Vikna, she's ready for you whenever you're ready.”

“Miss Vikna!” The familiar face of the red, white, and black anthro yells out. “And the human!”

“ARA, I think you know his name by now.” Vikna says with a smile.

“Apologetic response, I am sorry, I did not intend any ill will.” The anthroid known as ARA says. “Today is looking to be a very busy day for myself, miss Vikna. The director himself is asking me to do tons of relaying and computational tasks. As you organics like to say, it is about to got hot and sweaty in here!”

“ARA, that's not what that means at all!” Vikna blurts out, blushing as she does.

“I think she's being literal.” Jack tells the blue feline. “As in, she's going to heat the room up like a server farm.”

“Miss Vikna has a dirty mind.” The anthroid says with a smile. “What about you, mister Jack? What do you do?”

“I'm a Marine. Sort of like soldiers, but better.” He says. “I hope this doesn't distract from your work.”

“Oh, please, I can multi-task very well.” She says with a smile. “Do not worry about me. What were you doing when the portal took you?”

“I was trying to sleep in a grave, er, foxhole. We call foxholes graves because the Marines are all a bunch of crayon munching idiots.” He replies. “Myself included.”

“I assume you saying that you 'munch crayons' is a joke. If so, it would have been pleasantly funny if I wasn't so tied up with relaying information.” She says with a smile, moving a few holographic projections off and typing on a keyboard made of light. “I doubt you just fell into the portal inside one of these 'graves', so continue. I'm sure miss Vikna wants to know too.”

He looks over to her and she nods, her full attention now being given to the Marine.

“So, uh, I heard this massive explosion. It was fucking enormous and sounded like it was right next to me. I thought someone just got snuck up on and blown up with an IED, but nobody else heard it. Even my piece of shit AG didn't hear anything.” He continues.

“Sorry to interrupt, but what's an AG?” ARA asks.

“Assistant Gunner. If he wasn't a fucking lazy asshole, the AG usually feeds the weapon, changes the barrels, and carries the tripod.” He replies. “Unfortunately, my assistant gunner IS said fucking lazy asshole and doesn't carry anything other than his rifle and a box of ammo. This means we don't get a tripod, I have to carry the spare barrel or barrels, and I have to carry most of the ammo along with this heavy fucking gun. It sucks ass.”

“Truly a predicament. If people are being lazy around me, I usually go to my supervisor, who is currently miss Vikna, and complain to them until the problem is fixed.” She says.

“Which I've told you to stop doing. You're an E-7 with security clearance level four. Most enlisted have to listen to you without question.” Vikna adds.

“I'd do that, but every time I file a report, it gets thrown out. There's foul play involved, no doubt, but I'm just a lowly E-3 and he's an E-4. At this rate, my knees are going to give and there's nothing I can do to stop it.” He says. “I really like being able to squat down and pick things up.”

“How much weight do you carry?” ARA asks.

“Usually over a hundred and ten pounds.” He replies.

“Do you have any augmentations or some kind of exoskeleton?” She asks.

“No, we're not that far along yet.” Jack replies. “All science fiction right now.”

“Would you like any augmentations?” She asks.

“If you're buying, I'd be up for it. I don't have any money that works here and what I do have is being kept until after I finish this tour.” He replies.

“Unfortunately, I do not make a salary, as I am not sentient. However, miss Vikna makes a large sum of money that appears to go nowhere. She may be able to assist you.” ARA says with a definite teasing smile.

“I do too buy things!” She yells indignantly. “I buy...things.”

“Certainly, miss Vikna!” ARA says with a smile. “Please continue your story, mister Jackson.”

“Anyways, I get up and have a look around before the farmer comes out of his hut, screaming in his language that I can't understand worth a damn. He's screaming about something, pointing to his hut with a sawn off rifle in his hands. Had to tell the old coot to drop it or my guys would've wasted the poor dude.” Jack continues. “When I got inside, it was like a one way image. Like when you're playing a video game and clip through the terrain. There's usually no textures underneath the ground and you can see right through it.”

ARA seems lost, but Vikna is following along just fine.

“So, I call my guys in and they're just as confused as I am. I tell them to call Dad, our squad lead, and contact the CIA. Thought it was one of their toys and they might've wanted to pick it up. After that, I tell one of my guys to stack up on me and I go through the portal. The guy I wanted to come through with me is gone and the portal is gone too. Now I'm stuck in some hallway with letters I can't understand and nowhere to go except down the hall.” He explains. “I hear someone coming down the hall and nearly piss myself because I'm thinking some spook is gonna come to ice me for checking out his new toy. I find a random room and start pressing buttons until the door opens, just barely making it inside before whoever was coming around does. When I turn around, I see her in her bed watching something on what I thought was just a TV.”

Vikna had realized too late where he was going with it, but he manages to save it at the last second.

“So that's who went into miss Vikna's room!” ARA says with a smile. “I thought I saw someone go in.”

“Yeah, she started yelling at me and I couldn't understand it. Sounded like Russian, but it was all wrong.” He says. “Eventually, we were able to...come to an understanding and start speaking to each other normally.”

“That pretty much sums it up.” Vikna says, relief present on her face.

Jack nods, seeing an empty floating chair that seemed to have spinning apparatus underneath it covered by thick glass. When he pulls the chair over, he grabs another for Vikna and she nods, taking the seat as she pulls the seat up next to Vikna. Jack takes off his pack and Camelbak, setting them both down on the ground before opening up the former. He drags a clear plastic bag out of his pack, setting the heavy pack down before unpacking the MRE. He takes out the bagel and the shake, digging around before finding some cheese spread too.

“What are you doing?” ARA asks.

“Eating. I don't know what you guys eat and I don't want to eat some sort of weird alien colon.” He replies. “I already ate a ration from almost forty years ago and had the shits for days. They still laugh at me. Look who's laughing now, fuckers. First dibs on these new first strike rations.”

He pulls out a packaged apple turnover, smiling as he takes out something labeled “smoked turkey nuggets”. When he finishes that, he sets the ration back in the ruck, zipping the large bag up as Vikna looks back at him in surprise.

“Were those grenades?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He replies. “You need one?”

After he replies, he realized what he just said and chuckles, clipping his grenade pouches shut.

“Uh, never mind.” He tells her as she looks back at the bag and back up at him. “What? They're not sentient. Only way they can go off is if I remove two safety pins and let go of the spoon.”

She sighs, laying back in the seat as she shakes her head, watching him take out a knife and slice the bagel in half. He begins kneading the cheese spread before looking over the package, a grin spreading across his face. He spreads the cheese and puts on the turkey bits, sandwiching the two halves of bagel together to create an MRE turkey sandwich. Jack splits it in half and looks over at Vikna, who's looking curiously at the processed, shelf stable food.

“Want some?” He asks.

“What is it?” She asks.

“A turkey sandwich with jalapeno cheese spread.” He replies. “It's pretty good, I've had them before.”

She takes the piece of food in her hand as he hands her the half of bagel, looking it over before sniffing it. She rears her head back with a look of disgust.

“This is more processed than twenty credit food synths.” She says.

“Well, it can remain stable on a shelf for over five years.” Jack replies. “Welcome to thinking of food as equipment. Brought to you by the United States military. Bottoms up.”

He chomps down on the home made turkey sandwich as Vikna takes a tentative bite, expecting it to taste like utter dog shit. She's then pleasantly surprised by the taste, smiling a bit as she begins to eat through the rest of the bagel/sandwich thing. When she finishes it, she sees the man has two bottles of pills in his hands, opening them both up and dumping a few pills into his hand before screwing the caps back on. He downs the pills and takes a drink from his canteen, sighing a bit before he looks back at Vikna.

“Sorry, thought you weren't looking.” He says guiltily, looking down at the floor as he picks up a package from the floor, shaking it a bit as he opens the top. “It's nothing recreational, just something I'm prescribed to take.”

She nods in understanding, not wanting to question it further with the look he's giving her from just seeing him use it. He's obviously ashamed of it. He clears his throat and smiles a bit, pouring the canteen into the pouch before closing the pouch off. When he does so, he begins shaking the pouch vigorously. After a while of this, he opens the pouch, a little dribble of pink fluid making its way down the tan exterior packaging. When he raises the drink to his mouth, the door opens behind them and two sets of boots are heard.

“Hey, the director called me over here with one of my new friends. What's going on?” A man asks, prompting Vikna to turn around.

Her expression immediately dampens as Jack turns around as well, seeing a human woman and a...what? He looks like a cat and a dog had raunchy sex. Well, that's probably exactly what happened. When Jack puts the strawberry milkshake down, he smiles up at the man, getting up from his seat as he completely forgets about his backpack, which falls to the floor with the apple turnover. It doesn't dampen his mood, however, as he approaches the man. The hybrid reaches behind him and unsheathes a sword, looking Jack over as he stops where he was.

“Whoa there, pal. What's the big deal?” Jack asks. “You pull a box cutter on every dude you see?”

“Who are you and why are you in here?” He asks.

“I could ask you the same thing, since you're obviously not dressed to be here.” Jack replies, looking over at the female who's dressed in a policewoman outfit. “Hiya, ma'am.”

“Hey.” She tells him. “Where's this director at? We were told to come here ASAP.”

“Very top floor of the building.” Jack replies. “Ask for Fluff.”

“Fluff?” She asks.

“FluffKevlar. Dunno who he is, but he says he makes furry art.” He replies.

The woman blushes a bit as she looks over at Vikna, a look of recognition coming over her face.

“I-I see.” She says. “Uh, nitro, let's go to the elevator. I need to, uh, talk with this guy.”

He nods and sheathes his sword, both of them exiting the room as Jack walks back to the seat he was in casually.

“Good riddance. The only thing he is to me is a nuisance.” ARA says with more than mild annoyance. “His name is Nytro with a y, because an i is just too simple.”

“What's the deal with him?” Jack asks, now intrigued.

“He's the local ladies man.” Vikna replies. “Well, local is a bit of a stretch. He lives a ways away in another star system. She's just mad because she can't take banter.”

“He has tried to sexually assault me five times.” ARA says.

“Giving your shoulders a rub isn't sexual assault, ARA.” Vikna says.

“I see. Do you know who else is coming?” Jack asks.

“Zofie is coming with a man. She said he was a soldier too and they both spoke the same language. Maybe the two of you will get along.” She replies. “Then there's...Ayn. She's bringing some kind of prince with her from another star system. That's all she told me before she started spamming emojis at me.”

“Guess that makes five people from five portals. Who's this Ayn person anyway?” He asks.

“A slut.” Vikna replies before ARA can open her mouth all the way. “Nothing more.”

“I see.” Jack says. “When are they all arriving?”

“They should all be here by now.” She replies. “All of them took the same starliner that runs a triangular route to Siania, Serko, and Katric.”

The door opens again, leading to Jack turning back around, nearly dropping his milkshake. Standing in front of him is a man in a flat green uniform, an MP40 strapped to his shoulder and a Stahlhelme on his head. His boots were polished to a shine and he looks around the room in wonder, seeing everything for the first time as a German spaniel comes in beside him.

“So, what do you think of this place?” The distinctly female spaniel asks, her voice being marked with a German accent.

“I...I don't know what to think...” He says, obviously in awe before his eyes rest upon Jack. “Wait, what?”

He makes his way over to the Marine, leaving the canine behind as he looks the man over. When he looks over his helmet, he sees the eagle, globe, and anchor and hurriedly tries to ready his weapon.

“AMERICAN!” He yells out, backing up as he points the SMG at the man.

Jack just sighs, drinking back the milkshake before tossing the empty package into what he assumed was a garbage can.

“Easy there, friend.” Jack tells him. “We're all friends here.”

He immediately lowers his weapon, letting it rest on the sling as Jack gets up.

“How is he speaking German so well?” The man asks. “He's an American, they're all dumb as dirt!”

“Is that what your propaganda wants you to believe?” Jack asks in reply. “Name's Jackson, but you can call me Jack.”

“My name's Velheim. My family hails from Norway, but we moved to Germany for a better and less frigid life.” He replies, holding out a hand.

“I'm from Michigan. My family hails from Ireland and I was born there. Guess there was some time travel involved in those portals after all.” Jack says, taking his hand as he returns a bit of his own back story. “No hard feelings, eh?”

“Wait, if you're American, that means Germany...”

“Yeah, you lost the war.” He replies, putting a hand on his shoulders. “You from the eastern or western front?”

“The eastern.” He says, the dog from before walking past the two as he continues. “It's hell, but we're managing to push them back. Though, I guess it doesn't matter, does it?”

“I'll say this right now. Run like hell. Get captured by the Americans in Africa or you'll be fucked by a bunch of drunk Russians. Seriously, they turn the entire eastern side of Europe into a communist hellscape.” Jack replies. “So, uh, who's the girl?”

“Oh, she's my friend. Her name's Zofie.” He replies. “Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?”

Jack looks back at Zofie as her tail is wagging back and forth while talking to Vikna. Vikna is crossing her arms and looking generally bitchy, but he knows it's all just a facade. Especially when Vikna cracks a smile, leaning over and whispering into her ear.

“Want to know the best part?” Velheim asks. “She's an amazing cook. I've never had anything as good as what she cooks before in my life.”

His sentence ending is punctuated by Zofie giggling, looking over at him with a slight blush on her face. Did Vikna just...no, she wouldn't. Zofie then leans in and whispers something in Vikna's ear, making her blush and giggle as well. Jack looks back to Velheim, who's completely oblivious to what's going on.

“I think they're talking about us.” Jack says. “I think Vikna just told Zofie I made love to her yesterday.”

“Oh...” He says. “Wait, then she must've...Zofie!”

He makes his way over to her with a blush on his pale cheeks, his helmet falling off and landing on the ground with a metallic clang. Zofie gets out of the chair and begins running around the room as some of the other anthroids watch in amusement. Jack hurries and takes his seat back before Zofie can sit down, Vikna chuckling as the German chases the canine around the room. He finally catches her as she squeals with delight, hoisting her up in the air as she kicks her legs fruitlessly.

“She said it was love at first sight.” Vikna tells him, watching as he sets her down, turning her around and pulling her into an embrace. “He fought off some hoodlum for her and offered to buy her a drink to calm her nerves, only to find out his Reich marks didn't mean anything here. So, instead of buying her a drink, he pet her for an hour straight. On the way here, she pounced on him and they both fucked for hours. Gave him her first time and everything.”

“That's sweet.” Jack says, watching her pull him into a kiss, both of them staying attached to each other before pulling away.

“She said Nytro met that woman when he was grappling with some guy in the streets. She tased the guy who was going to slice Nytro's throat open while he cuffed the guy. I think you know what happened after that.” She says. “I can probably guess what happened with Ayn.”

Jack looks back at the two Germans, who are both attracting the attention of a definitely alien AI. She looks over them with barely hidden disgust before turning back to her console, cables dangling from her hair as she shakes her head. They both look at the alien and back to each other, laughing and making their way away from her. Jack opens the packet of apple turnover, seeing it's surprisingly intact for what it is. He takes it out of the pack and hands a bit of it to Vikna, who smiles and takes it.

“It's apple turnover.” Jack tells her. “Or what the US military considers apple turnover.”

She giggles at that and takes a bite, eating the food absentmindedly as the two lovey dovey Germans continue to kiss and grope each other.

“Miss Zofie, I do advise you find a room, as there are many security cameras that are watching you at the moment. You are also making me uncomfortable.” ARA informs the two, which seems to break them up for long enough to listen. “Please?”

“Oh, sorry...” Zofie says, looking down at the floor with a blush on her face. “Velheim, let's go get a room. Maybe then we can...spice things up a bit?”

The soldier chuckles at that, looking back at Jack as he gives him a thumbs up. The man nods, Velheim taking Zofie off as the door closes behind them. ARA sighs in relief as Jack turns around to see her leaning back in the chair.

“Their hormones were spiking and, by any metric I have been able to find, they were about engage in sexual intercourse in the control room. Mother was giving me text based prompts to make them leave before they stained the floors.” ARA says, seeming to answer his question before he asked.

He nods, seeming to understand as he puts the rest of the apple turnover in his mouth, eating the ration with a content sigh. When he finishes, he puts his hands on his lap and continues to watch ARA do her thing, being content with watching how she's moving the screens around.

“You okay?” Vikna asks, waving a hand in front of his face. “You've been watching her work for nearly two hours. Kind of making me jealous.”

“I'm easily entertained.” He replies. “Need something?”

“Just seeing if you're okay.” She replies. “Lunch is in a couple hours and ARA has about an hour of work left before she can begin roaming around. Then we can walk around the space elevator for a while.”

“An hour of work? I will get it done in half an hour!” She says with confidence, seeming to double her efforts as the screens become unpleasantly fast paced to watch.

Jack looks over at Vikna with a bit of annoyance, which makes her smirk. He sighs, turning toward her and giving her his full attention.

“So, tell me about your unit.” She says. “I was hoping we'd get to talk more without you staring at her screens like a moron.”

“Well, I'm currently deployed with second recon.” He replies. “Guys are a bit...special, but they get shit done. I'm not qualified for recon at all, but gunners are in short supply and I'm needed pretty much everywhere. They basically pulled me from training to stick me in a combat zone. Huge resurgence in terrorist activity in Helmand and they need a huge amount of guys there.”

“How do you function in a unit you're not qualified for?” She asks.

“Keep my head low and shoot bad guys.” He replies. “That's how I always do it. Don't talk, don't get friendly, just shoot at bad guys and keep their heads down.”

“Seems kind of cold.” She says. “I thought you lower enlisted were supposed to be brothers who'd do anything for one another.”

“Yeah, most of the guys in recon are insufferable anyway. Not to say I wouldn't die for the guys, but I don't really like many of them.” He tells her. “There's this really cool guy who only talks in grunts and throat noises, but most of them I just tolerate or am only acquainted with.”

“Sounds rough.” She says as Jack looks off to the side.

“We're a weapons company, obviously.” He says, moving the massive gun in his lap. “I usually sit around the FOB and pull guard duty, but when I go out...it means they need a big gun.”

Vikna opens her mouth like she's going to say something, but she doesn't continue, instead looking off to the side.

“You don't have to keep going. I get the picture.” She says politely, allowing Jack to relax. “What are the people like in the place you're at?”

“I'm still of the belief that everyone has the ability to be good. I have yet to see much of it from the locals, but the good I do see makes it all worth it in my opinion.” He replies before looking down again.

He notices she's gotten closer and is looking up at him with a smile, ARA continuing to throw the screens all over the place as he feels heat begin to radiate off his cheeks. The door opens again and Jack looks over, seeing a man in a much fancier looking uniform walk in with a smug look on his face. He was a fennec fox of taller stature than Vikna, but a bit shorter than Jack.

“Kavkor, I've been told you've been lagging behind on your reports to the Emperor. He's expecting one tomorrow and you're sitting around chatting with this...oh god, what are you?” He asks, not know what Jack was.

“Human.” Jack replies.

“Right, that. Now, I can type up a report today and pass it off as your own, but you'll have to do something in return.” He replies with a smirk. “As Varhand of the second fleet, I have some pull with the man himself.”

“That report isn't due for another three days, sir.” She says.

“Dates change. Didn't you get my memo this morning?” He asks.

“I didn't see it.” She replies. “When did you send it?”

“At around 0700.” He replies. “It had the Emperor's seal of approval and everything. I don't know how you didn't see it, but that doesn't excuse you not knowing.”

“Well-”

“Now hold on.” Jack says, not buying this for a second. “Open your e-mail really quick.”

“E-what?” Vikna asks.

“Your mail. Check it.” He replies.

“Who are you to be giving orders to a Kavkor OR a Varhand?” The fox asks, his massive ears flattening a bit in anger as he looks Jack in the eyes.

“I'm not seeing a single message from you this entire week, sir.” She says. “The only message I got at 0700 was spam advertising a penis supplement.”

“I'm sure you must have it in your drafts folder. Show her your drafts if you have it in there.” He says.

“I delete all my drafts after I make them.” The fox tells him.

“Then you don't have a case.” Jack says, getting up. “Sorry to ruin your power trip, sir, but your subordinates are not your play things. On behalf of article seventy two clause fourteen of the interplanetary peace keeping act, I am not authorized to stand by and allow blackmail to happen. Until I fall unconscious, it is my duty as a protector of the people to prevent any undo sexual conduct. Rank, age, and experience be damned.”

He looks up at Jack as the Marine gets closer to him, looking at the gun swaying on his chest before looking back up at his face.

“You gonna be the first one to be tried in an inter galactic court hearing for breaking alien law?” Jack asks, taking the gun in his hands. “Or are you going to go find yourself a sex bot like everyone else?”

“Sir, I highly recommend listening to him. What do you think Bhainen would think if he heard you violated another Katrician naval law as well as violating intergalactic law?” Vikna asks.

“W-well, you've made your point Kavkor. Don't blame me when you get a visit from the Emperor.” The man says, struggling to maintain his composure.

The man walks back out the door and Jack nods, walking back toward the chair. When he sits down, he sighs, looking back at Vikna.

“Is that law a real thing?” She asks.

“I totally pulled it out of my ass.” Jack replies. “Am I really that intimidating or is everyone here a giant pussy?”

“Just the higher ups under Bhainen.” She replies. “Thanks for that. He tries to force sex on me all the time and I've managed to weasel my way out of it up until this time. I thought it was a bit suspect that he sent me a message in the very early morning hours.”

“Yeah, most officers of his status in my world act much more professional than he does.” Jack replies. “This kind of behavior is usually reserved for lower enlisted.”

The door opens AGAIN and Jack whips around, ready to give a verbal thrashing in case it was who he thought it was. Instead, it was a squirrel anthro with some...large features.

“Vikna!” She says excitedly. “I knew I'd find you in here!”

“Ma'am?” Vikna asks, looking up at the girl.

“Oh, and you found a friend! He looks new!” She says at an almost uncomfortably high volume and pitch.

“Who're you?” Jack asks.

“I'm Vice Kirov Svetsa of the fourth fleet second arm.” She replies. “Are you an alien?”

“I guess I'm an alien to you.” He says, looking at her massive, bushy tail.

“He's a cutey! Where do you find these guys?” The excitable squirrel asks.

“The last guy I had was almost a year ago.” Vikna replies. “Don't make it sound like I have these guys around me all the time.”

“Well if he's not yours, why don't I take him off and show him what Katrician hospitality feels like?” She asks, fluttering her eyes at him as she squeezes her ample cleavage together.

Jack looks off to the side, backing into his chair a bit as she looks puzzled.

“I-I don't want to.” He says.

“Why not?” She asks with a whine. “I'm lots of fun!”

He quickly glances back at Vikna before looking back at the busty squirrel, seeing her pop a smirk.

“Oh, I see.” She says, flicking her tail a bit. “I'll see you both later. Varhand wants me for some special time. See you two later!”

She leaves as quickly as she came, bouncing up and down in the hallway as the Marine looks over at a blushing Vikna.

“W-why'd you look at me?” She asks. “How am I holding you back?”

Jack doesn't look away, but he's not able to say anything, too embarrassed with himself to reply.

“Don't look at me like that...” She says, her blush becoming more pronounced. “I-I...”

Now Vikna isn't able to say anything as Jack gives her a warm smile. She takes a deep breath as ARA turns around, no longer wanting to be part of the conversation.

“If I do this, people will laugh at you. Everyone thinks I'm a slut and they'll think you're just another one of my lays. They'll call you crazy because I'm so mean to everyone.” She says. Looking back up at him. “There are so many other girls you could have. I'm not even the prettiest one.”

He takes a gloved hand off his gun and puts it on top of hers, holding the smile as he tries to gather the wits and strength to say something. He'd never had to convince a girl that he wanted her before.

“I-I don't know why you'd want me. I don't even give good sex. It's just...mediocre.” She says, trying to convince him why he should turn away. “I don't even do it that often.”

Jack takes his other hand off his gun and puts it on her own free hand, still thinking of what to say. He brushes his thumb against her hands as she keeps them still, not wanting him to stop.

“Vikna...” He says. “I don't like you because of how you look, I like you because of how you act. I don't value a good fuck over whether or not I enjoy the person's company. At the end of the day, having sex is just a thing people do on a bi-weekly basis, if that. Talking is something you do every day and I thoroughly enjoy being around you. Both sides of you. Anyone who thinks you're mean is a close minded asshole who probably only wanted a quick lay anyway.”

“But what about you? You're hot! You must be swimming in girls!” She says.

“If you think I'm hot, there's something seriously wrong with the standards here. If anything, I'm considered fairly average. Look at my face! I have the face of a fatass!” He says, squishing his cheeks together as Vikna giggles. “You on the other hand, you look like you could do crunches in three Gs.”

“T-thanks...” She says, looking off to the side. “I try to work out when I can.”

“I don't know if it's supposed to be a compliment here, but your fur is really soft too. I could pet you for hours on end and never get tired of it.” He tells her.

“J-Jack!” She yells in distress, looking back at ARA and seeing her smirking. “N-not here...”

“Sorry, but it's true.” He says, smiling even wider as he continues to rub her hands gently.

“This is all so sudden...” She says. “Well, I guess this is what happens if you give a mouse a cookie...”

“I can already smell the co-dependency.” ARA says before turning back to her work station.

“Kavkor, sorry to interrupt your bonding session, but I've been notified of suspicious activity on our deck. Some guy wearing a trench coat has been walking around the halls for a while now.” The weird alien demon woman says. “Mind checking it out, ma'am? You're the only one on this deck who has a security qualification and isn't busy with some minor task.”

“Yeah, I'll check it out.” She says. “Probably just some drunkard.”

She's about to get up, but realizes Jack's hands are still on her own. She gives him a gentle smile and pulls her hands out from underneath his, chuckling a bit.

“Hey, you want to come with me?” She asks. “It's probably just some asshole who's wired on some shit.”

He smiles and nods, getting up and opening up a pouch on his vest. He pulls out a belt and opens the top cover on his MG, setting the rounds inside and closing it up.

“I don't think that's going to be necessary.” She says. “A machine gun is a bit overkill for a druggie.”

“You've obviously never shot a druggie before.” He says, racking the bolt back and pushing it forward. “I pumped ten shots into a dude with this thing before he went down. Believe me, it's necessary.”

She raises her eyebrows a bit before nodding, making her way out the door as the two continue toward the man's position.

10 minutes later

The two are now a few more turns from the hall before they hear screaming coming from down the hall.

“DROP THE PHONE!” A man Jack instantly recognizes screams in the distance.

“Shit, pick up the pace!” Jack yells, breaking into a sprint as he runs down the winding halls.

When he makes it around the corner, a man pointing an M16 at the trench coat clad furry stands rigid in his stance, finger on the trigger as the man holds a cellphone out.

“Kermit, on your six!” Jack yells out, making his way toward the trench coat man with his own weapon up. “Sitrep!”

“Guy's saying he has a bomb, Lance Corporal!” Kermit replies in a voice that sounds almost exactly like his name sake. “Don't know what to do!”

“Open your coat!” Jack yells. “Slowly!”

“What the hell is going on here?!” Vikna asks.

“Possible terrorist attack in progress!” Jack yells. “OPEN YOUR FUCKING TRENCH COAT NOW!”

“I will blow up this entire space elevator with an anti-matter bomb!” The man yells angrily. “If you do not take me to the director of the Tower this instant, I will sever the connection to the station!”

“Vikna, get EOD over here right fucking now!” Jack yells.

“That doesn't make sense...” She says, perplexed. “If there was any anti-matter, it would've been detected and alert the entire Tower.”

“I have my ways, pretty kitty.” The man says. “Take me to the director NOW!”

“We don't negotiate with terrorists, asshole!” Kermit yells out. “Should I waste him, Corporal?!”

“If you do it, I will trigger my dead man's switch!” He yells. “Do not test me!”

“OPEN YOUR TRENCH COAT, MOTHER FUCKER!” Jack screams out hard enough for his voice to crack. “OPEN IT NOW!”

The man smirks, unbuttoning his trench coat as Kermit and Jack watch intently, both ready to pull the trigger as Vikna calls the EOD techs. When he opens his trench coat, his chest is covered in explosives, the lower part of his body being...less clothed. Now that they both know he has something on him, their efforts are redoubled.

“Why do you want to see the director so bad?” Kermit asks. “What's he got to do with any of this?”

“That guy's a fucking crook!” The trench coat wearing man yells back. “He's some nobody a year ago and now he's the fucking director of the Tower! How the hell does anybody climb the ladder that fucking fast?! HE'S CORRUPT!”

“He's not corrupt.” Jack tells him. “He's really smart is what he is.”

“So you're one of his lackeys?!” The man asks angrily.

“What? No!” Jack replies. “I'm an alien, you fucking crazy!”

“I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL KILL US ALL IF YOU FUCK WITH ME!” He screams, holding the phone in the air.

“Son of a bitch, he's gonna do it!” Kermit yells in a fearful tone.

Jack sees the man reaching past his vest as he flicks the safety off on his weapon. Before the man can draw, he's wrapped in a cocoon of ice, completely frozen in place by the icy prison as Vikna makes her way forward.

“I'VE FUCKING HAD IT WITH YOU GOD DAMN TERRORISTS COMING INTO THE TOWER LIKE YOU OWN IT!” Vikna screams, walking toward him as his frigid binds grow thicker and thicker. “You blow up entire sections of the Tower and make getting to and from work almost completely impossible! I HAVE BEEN STUCK HERE FOR A WEEK BECAUSE YOU BLEW OUT DECK TWO HUNDRED SEVENTEEN! Do you think I have the kind of money for a shuttle ride to and from work like some fucking executive?! News flash, I FUCKING DON'T!”

Kermit lowers his rifle first while Jack turns back to cover the rear. He motions for Kermit to cover the other side of the exhibitionist furrycicle.

“I should squeeze you to death inside that ice for even DARING to threaten this space elevator with your fucking horse shit again! Be grateful that I'm in such a good fucking mood!” She continues.

“B-but I'm not a t-t-terrorist!” He says, shivering from the cold of the ice. “I-I just w-want a pay raise!”

“Exactly what the mouse says when he's caught by the cat!” She says, gritting her teeth as the elevator dings. “I bet you'd denounce Katric in its entirety just to move your fingers a few inches, you fucking weasel!”

As the elevator doors open up, Jack sees a couple men in massive body suits moving in to the encased ice, tools out and equipment scanning as they look the man over.

“It's just plastic explosives.” One of the men says quickly. “And it's defused.”

“FUCK!” The man yells.

“Shut up!” Vikna says, smashing a fist into the man's snout.

“Uh, who are the two with Comp B on them?” One of the suited men asks.

“You touch my grenades and I'll kick your ass so hard you won't have time to cry uncle.” Kermit replies.

“Cool it, Private!” Jack yells back. “Just keep covering your sector! Don't touch his grenades or he'll stab you to death!”

“Got it. Our job's done.” They say. “Security team is in the other elevator. Should be up any time now.”

With that, a ding is heard and the elevator opens, the two suited up EOD techs disappearing into the elevator they rode in on.

“God, you even have reprofever. Fucking pig.” She says, backing away from him slightly. “The shots for it are fucking free. FREE! How do you not get vaccinated for something when the shots are FREE?!”

“We good?” Jack asks, still covering his sector as someone comes out of their room, sees him, and turns right back around.

“We're good.” She replies. “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. Kermit! We're clear!” He yells to his other Marine. “Get over here before the spooks ice you!”

“Copy, Lance.” The Private replies, making his way back to the group as the Vikna literally breaks the ice.

The open trench-coated man tries to run, but the security officers are on him in an instant, cuffs at the ready. When he's taken back into the elevator, Vikna looks up at Kermit before looking back at Jack.

“How'd another human get in here?” She asks.

“There was a portal inside a farmer's house that I went through. Heard Haigs went through it almost four days ago.” He replies.

“Four days?!” Jack asks.

“Yeah, they think you're dead.” He replies. “Good to see you're alive. Always knew you were a furry.”

“S-shut up!” Jack yells indignantly. “I-I'm not a furry!”

He looks back down at Vikna then back to Jack, smiling as the Marine groans.

“Fuck off.” He says. “You recon guys are the fucking worst.”

“So, that disease. Is it contagious?” Kermit asks.

“It's got a fifty-fifty chance of infecting males, but females are a one hundred percent infection chance.” She says.

“What does it do?” He asks.

“It forces heat in females and a sort of heat-like state in males. Makes them fucking insatiable. It's kind of a pain in the ass if you don't have a sin-synth, er, sinth around. Keep forgetting they rebranded.” She replies, not noticing the pun she just made.

“So...one of us is going to become a man slut?” The man asks in his funny sounding voice.

“Not necessarily. You both might be immune or you both might want to go to town on anything with a hole.” She replies.

“You're pretty comfortable talking about something like this.” Kermit says with a smile.

“You think I'm some kind of slut who talks about taking dick all the time?” Vikna asks in a less than amused tone, making a massive, Earth-shattering assumption.

“Sure look like it.” He replies, eyeing her up with hungry eyes.

“Fucking gross!” She yells, slapping him hard. “Stay away from me!”

“Reign it in, Devil Dog.” Jack says. “She'll freeze your balls and smash them with a hammer.”

“Love me some cock and ball torture.” He says.

“Stop while you're ahead.” Vikna tells him forcefully, her tone telling him she's done fucking around.

“Aye, ma'am.” He says. “So, what have you been doing all this time, Haigs?”

“Nothing much, just observing and waiting for Fluff to unfuck the portal he made. He's working with a Chinese Doctor Who knockoff called 'The Lavor' or some shit. Messed with time and brought a German soldier from the second world war through.” Jack replies. “Some woman named Ayn is supposed to come too, but she's later than all the others have been.”

“Slut's probably fucking the poor human who's supposed to be coming through.” Vikna replies with ire. “Guess we should probably go check on ARA. She's been pinging me for the last minute or so.”

The two of them nod and they're both off to the control room.

10 more minutes later

Vikna finishes her coffee with one final chug, tossing the plastic cup into a trash chute while she approaches the door. The sign above blinks a few times and opens, allowing Vikna and the two humans to enter. When both of them get inside, a “wow” comes from Kermit as he looks around the room in awe. Vikna, however, was more interested in the organic that was giving ARA definitely unwanted shoulder rubs.

“I must make it known that I do not have erogenous zones that are not completely under lock down by the director!” ARA says.

“Get away from her, creeper!” Vikna shouts. “There's a sinth that looks just like her up on floor two seventy! Go get your kicks there!”

“THERE IS?!” ARA asks in more of a scream than anything.

“I've browsed through the entire sinth catalog, Kavkor. I know there's no such thing.” The wolf replies, continuing to rub her shoulders. “I'm just giving her a harmless shoulder rub.”

“He has been begging me to come with him for the past five minutes, miss Vikna. Please, I am feeling very uncomfortable.” She says.

“Buddy, I think you should leave the girl alone.” Jack says, stepping forward.

“Oh? Are you going to do something about it?” He asks. “Maybe you'll shoot me with your gun?”

“Is that an invitation?” Jack asks.

“Take it as you wish.” The man replies with a smile.

“Don't let him provoke you.” Vikna says. “Let's see how fast you can run from a court martial for provoking AI without their consent.”

“Whatever you say, hot stuff. I'll be back for you later.” He says, giving Vikna a wink. “Ciao.”

He makes his way past the group, whipping Jack with his tail as he exits the room, ARA relaxing considerably.

“Thank you, miss Vikna. I was worried he might actually do something.” The anthroid tells the blue feline. “I am grateful as always.”

“I dunno, I kinda liked the guy.” Kermit says.

“Maybe you can get him to rail you too.” Jack tells him.

“Maybe I will.” He says with a smirk.

“Ten bucks says you won't get him to fuck your ass. Twenty on you fucking his ass without raping him.” Jack says.

“You got it.” He says, running back out the door. “Wait up, hot stuff!”

Jack chuckles and shakes his head while Vikna echoes it.

“He's never going for something like that.” Vikna says with a smile. “Though I do appreciate you getting rid of him. I see why you don't like to associate with them.”

“Not all of them are that bad. He's just a huge pain in the ass when he's not being shot at.” Jack replies before clearing his throat. “Throats a little dry. I'm gonna grab some water and sit down. You said lunch was in an hour?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage to get there by myself. Unless your hungry, that is. Food's free if you get it from the food synth.” She says.

“I'm not really allowed to eat local food when I'm on patrol. I don't know how my body will react to the things you guys use in foods here.” Jack tells her. “I can bring my food with me if you still want to talk.”

“I'd be okay with it. Don't know how people would react, but I'm fine with it.” She says. “For now, let's finish up the shift.”

10 hours later

Jack was beat. Not from exertion, but from the act of staying up so long. Days were 4 hours longer on this planet than they are on Earth, which was why he was able to sleep in so long and still be able to wake up relatively early. That wasn't the only problems he was having. His mouth was always dry no matter how much water he drank, having drank both his canteens and now being down to his Camelbak. He didn't want to worry Vikna, so he just told her he was dehydrated and needed lots of water to hydrate himself. He'd been dehydrated before, and this was definitely NOT dehydration. He was also finding it difficult to keep his eyes off Vikna, having to physically remove himself from the room multiple times under the guise of a bathroom break just to keep himself from getting aroused.

She was just so...perfect. The way her fur flowed from a blue to a white in a way that didn't make his eyes burn, how she'd give him a cute little smile every time she saw him looking. The only thing he could think about was going to town on her, but he did everything in his power to keep the thoughts at bay. He needed to keep himself distracted so he didn't come off as some kind of perv. Maybe he'd be able to jack off later tonight while she was asleep. She didn't wake when he took a shower, maybe she'd sleep through him choking his chicken. In the shower, of course. However, his groin in general hurt like a motherfucker, so any hard-on he did get was extremely painful.

He pulls the earbuds out of his ears, sitting back in the chair as his faculties were wearing thin. He was reliant on the stress of not knowing when his number could be up to keep him awake at night, but that stress was gone in the safety of the Tower. Vikna looks back at him as he yawns, pausing the music on his tablet before he stuffs the relatively primitive piece of tech back in his bag. She cocks her head at him and puts a hand up to his head, making him smile at the softness of her hand. She pulls her hand back and Jack feels a part of himself leave with her, the smile vanishing from his face.

“You're burning up.” She says. “I think you have a fever.”

“Nah, I'll be fine.” He says. “It's nothing.”

“ARA, can you do a basic medical scan on him?” Vikna asks. “He feels like he's on fire.”

The red anthroid in question turns around, smiling as she blinks a few times. Her smile turns to a frown and she scoots herself away from the man, making him feel a bit dejected.

“First, I must make this clear. I am not a sinth.” She says, backing into the solid piece of console behind her. “Secondly, I am afraid you are afflicted with reprofever. It is too late for anything short of a direct nanite medical intervention to make a difference, but for something like reprofever, it is not recommended.”

Vikna blushes a bit, staying where she is as Jack turns back to her.

“Why didn't you say anything?” She asks. “Dry mouth is the first sign of it.”

“I didn't want you to worry.” He replies.

“Well, sexual relief anthroids are relatively cheap, so you could go and rent one of them for the night. They are specifically designed to relieve this kind of illness.” ARA chimes in.

“I...don't have any money I can use here.” He says. “Can I just...you know...”

He makes a slow jerking motion in the air with a closed fist and Vikna blushes a bit more, ARA shaking her head.

“You will be doing nothing to relieve the problem, as the hormones provided by most anthros during intercourse are the only thing that can satiate it.” ARA replies matter of factly. “You'll relieve your desires in the short term, but will do nothing for the long term.

“Sucks to be me, I guess.” Jack says. “Vikna, I'm gonna be in the bathroom for a while. I'll try and keep it quiet, unless you want me to stay away from you entirely. I'm sure I can find a bathroom around here somewhere.”

She looks back up at him with the most confused look she's given him all day.

“Uh, hello?” Jack asks, waving his hands as he fears the magical translation may have stopped.

“You seriously think that I'm just going to hang you out to dry?” She asks. “For real? After all the things you did for me?”

“It's easier to expect nothing in return and be pleasantly surprised than to expect something and be disappointed.” Jack replies before closing his fists as a wave of pain makes its way up from his groin. “F-fuck, that sparks.”

“My shift ended half an hour ago. I'll...find you someone.” She says. “See you tomorrow, ARA.”

“Good night, miss Vikna!” ARA says with a smile.

The two get up, Jack grabbing his things off the floor as he takes another drink of water from his Camelbak. He's starting to get really pissed off that this dry mouth isn't going the fuck away. When he exits the room, Vikna looks back at him with a smile, continuing down the halls toward the elevators.

“You could've just asked.” Vikna says. “I saw you peeking at me the entire time and I thought it was cute. Besides, I wouldn't mind going another round with you. After all, you did extinguish my heat for me until I could get paid today.”

“Is it really bad enough for you to want sex from strangers?” Jack asks.

“Yes, anthro heat is a huge pain in the ass.” She replies. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?”

“Nine.” Jack replies. “I can barely walk.”

“Yeah, you're in the late stages of it. Probably already starting to grow. You want me to carry something?” She asks. “I'm stronger than I look.”

“You can carry the gun.” He replies, handing off the heavy weapon to her. “Backpack weighs sixty five pounds and you'd topple yourself if you tried carrying it.”

She looks over the gun with gleeful eyes, holding the awkward gun as best she could with her small frame. When the two reach the elevators, she presses a button and an empty elevator door opens, making her smile.

“Let's get you upstairs.” She says, putting the gun over her shoulder as she selects a floor from outside and steps into the elevator. “Elevator ride's too short for a quickie and there's a camera inside. ARA's always watching me when I go back to my room.”

She looks up into the corner of the elevator and points, Jack seeing a camera in the elevator that wasn't there before. It rotates a bit, as if to roll its eyes before going back to watching the two in the elevator. The pain is getting unbearable as he begins to groan, holding onto the thick Kevlar pad that protects his balls from shrapnel.

“It's getting worse, isn't it?” Vikna asks.

“Y-yes...” He blurts out, gritting his teeth. “I-I need to stand or I won't be able to get back up again.”

He does just that and stands by the elevator door, a ding coming shortly after as the doors open up. Vikna walks out of the elevator and Jack can't help but stare at her perfectly shaped ass as it sways from side to side. When they both make it to her room, she turns around and sees him looking at her from behind. He doesn't even try to hide it anymore and she chuckles, opening the door with one hand as she holds his large gun with the other. When the door is open, she already begins undoing her clothes as Jack follows suit. He begins fumbling with the vest, unable to will his fingers to undo the Velcro on his front. Vikna sees he's having trouble and he grits his teeth, grabbing a pull ring on his vest and pulling it out with a wire attached. He then unclips the shoulder strap holding his vest in place, letting it drop free as his vest seems to fall apart.

“I'll put it back together tomorrow.” Jack says, looking down at the now massive bulge in his pants. “Holy fucking shit! Is that mine?!”

“I-I've heard of it happening before, but I've never seen it in person...” She says. “A rare symptom is...well...penis enlargement.”

The last part she can't say without blushing, hard.

“It doesn't look too big.” She says. “Maybe another inch or two, but that's about it.”

“Is...is it permanent?” He asks.

“No, sorry.” She replies with a bit of empathy. “It doesn't matter to me, if that's what you're asking. As long as it fits.”

This fills the Marine with more than just confidence as Vikna begins stripping out of her under shirt, revealing her soft blue backside with...cuts? The cute feline turns around, humming a little tune as she strips out of her skirt, looking up at him with a sultry smile before it turns into a look of worry.

“What's wrong?” She asks. “Am...am I not good looking enough?”

“Those cuts.” Jack says. “They look recent.”

She closes her eyes as if she had just been stabbed, gritting her teeth as she sits down on the bed.

“T-they are...” She says. “They just healed.”

“Mind telling me what happened?” He asks, gritting his teeth as he wills himself out of the lustful hole he ended up in, managing to teeter on the edge while he waits for a response.

“I-I don't know.” She says, sitting down on the bed. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“I promise.” He says, pulling himself away from the lust that gripped his mind for long enough to steady himself for her. “No man will be able to tear it from my lips.”

“About seven months ago, I was onboard my ship with my first officer. I loved him more than anything I had ever loved before. He was helpful, capable, and said he loved me too. I was sick that day, having missed out on getting a cold vaccination. We were both on deck because he wanted to be alone. I didn't really think anything of it, since he and I...you know what, we fucked. Really hard. Nearly every week on deck.” She says, not in the mood to beat around the bush. “I was making sure the crew had all made preparations for the autumn holidays when I sneezed. It was the most painful sneeze in my entire life and I looked back to see him with a bloody knife in his hand. I could feel myself bleeding when I touched my back and couldn't believe it.”

She stops talking, the pain in her face echoing the pain she felt all those months ago. This was obviously something very traumatic. She didn't want to talk anymore, but Jack knew that it was unhealthy to stop talking in the middle of a conversation. He gathered up all of the willpower he had and put a hand on her own, smiling at her as she looks back up at him. It seems to be enough as she takes a deep breath, continuing.

“He tried to...finish the job, but I managed to freeze him after a small scuffle, hence the cuts. He told me that it all meant nothing. The sex, the gifts, the 'I love you's', all of it was meaningless.” She says, sniffling a bit. “I told him that I loved him and he spat on my face, calling me an oppressive force of an unjust empire. I couldn't do anything but call security. They took him away and left the bridge. I cried up there for hours, just bawling as my assholes of shipboard AI tried to comfort me. When I worked up the courage to finally command my ship back home, I never told anyone what happened. I didn't want to look weak and vulnerable in front of anyone anymore.”

Jack tries to think of something to say as she looks on the verge of tears, her lips quivering as she sniffles. He had to think fast. What could he say? What could he do? What would he want someone to do if the situation were reversed? He knows exactly what he'd want someone to do. He grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her into a hug, holding her as close as possible as he rubs her back gently. This was the tipping point for her and she lets out a cry of sorrow, holding him tight as she begins to bawl her eyes out. She puts her head over his shoulders and he grabs it gently, rubbing her silky smooth hair as she lets it all out. He could feel the pain and betrayal in every heave and sorrowful cry, keeping her close as she lets it all spill out in front of him. It takes immense amounts of strength to take that leap, especially with someone who she just met. He feels tears beginning to drip down onto his uniform, soaking the digital tans and browns in salty liquid as she continues to let all the pain flow out in every cry and wail.

Her cries begin to die down, Jack now petting her hair gently rather than holding her head in place. When the cries become sobs and sobs become sniffles, she pulls away from him, her eyes wet down with tears.

“God, look at me, I must look ugly as sin.” She says, wiping all of the fluids away from her face.

“Nah, you're still hot.” Jack replies. “Do you want to know something about me? It's only fair.”

“Not unless you can wait.” She says, now sitting on top of his relatively massive erection. “Does it still hurt?”

“Yeah-”

“Then that settles it. You can tell me more later. I bet your balls are aching, aren't they?” She asks, her warm smile being turned into a sultry one as she gets off of him. “We'll fix that soon enough. Just get out of your clothes and I'll let you get straight to it. I'm already a little wet from seeing that massive meat stick in your pants.”

She gets herself off him and lets him stand, stripping out of his clothing as he hears gentle schlicking behind him. He turns himself around as he strips out of his underwear, looking down to see his balls are red and his cock grew at the very least an inch in size. Vikna smiles at this, licking her lips as she spreads her sex with her fingers.

“I-I can take a pounding, so just go at it until you can't go anymore.” She says with a bit lower lip.

Jack nods, but he's more interested in the juices she's leaking out. They smell like peppermint and he wonders if they taste the same way too. When she sees him not going straight for her, she lets out a curious feline noise.

“What're you do-ooooh god, oh fuuuuck.” She's about to ask before he sticks his tongue in her gaping snatch, licking at her insides curiously. “H-higher.”

Jack nods, licking up a little higher as he confirms she does indeed taste like peppermint. She grasps at his head with her hands and leans over, being assailed by pleasure she wasn't expecting so soon. The taste buds on the human's tongue felt like heaven to her as she began to whine and mew in newfound ecstasy, her tail waving back and forth as he continues moving his tongue higher.

“R-right there! That smooth s-s-spo-ah-spot. K-keep licking i-i-it!” She yelps out, feeling his tongue begin attacking her sensitive button.

Jack begins feeling some of the heat being taken off his balls and he moans a bit, causing Vikna to cry out in ecstasy. He remembers what to do from all the porn he used to watch...and still does watch. He brings his free hand up to Vikna's crotch, making his way down her incredibly soft and fuzzy belly while she continues to writhe in ecstasy.

“N-no! T-t-t-too m-much!” She says, pulling his hand away. “G-g-gonna c-cum!”

He continues to suckle and lap at her cunt, licking away all the juices as they drip down onto his short and stubby appendage. Suddenly, he feels her squeeze his tongue so hard that she nearly pulls it out of his mouth, her fluids flowing into his mouth in hot, sudden bursts. She holds his head where it is, Jack happily lapping up the sweet smelling and tasting liquid as she flops back down on the bed. He keeps lapping and she taps his head, pushing him back gently.

“T-too sensitive...” She says, watching as he leans back from her candy flavored cunny. “G-give me a breather.”

“Did you cum?” Jack asks obliviously. “I'm sorry if I didn't do it right.”

“I came.” She replies, smiling back down at the innocent man. “You're so cute, you know that?”

“S-stop it...” Jack says, looking down at the floor. “You're cute too.”

“Thanks.” She says, getting herself back into a more convenient position. “Now come on big guy, give me a proper one this time.”

She opens her folds up again and lays herself down on the bed, looking back at Jack with a playfulness in her eyes.

“I'm not gonna be able to stand and do this.” He says, looking down at his dick. “I think I just pissed myself too.”

“If it's clear, it's probably precum.” She tells him. “Get up on the bed, I don't want you to break your nose because your legs give out.”

He nods, rising off the floor with some effort before she lays herself out on the bed the right way around. He climbs up on top of the bed, crawling over to where she was until he's face to face with her. They both stay there like that, looking into each others eyes as the young Marine gets lost in their beauty. They're an indescribable mix of pink and purple, making a not-quite-magenta color that was a great contrast to the rest of her sky blue fur. Her hair was the color of ice, looking as if it was made of ice too until her ears move it a bit. She pecks him on the cheek, snapping him out of his stupor before he blushes a bit.

“You're in man heat, big guy. At least try to act like it.” She says with a cute, close eyed smile. “If you're worried you'll break me, don't. I've taken harder poundings and lived.”

He nods, lining up his now sizable pecker with her winking cunt, looking back up to see her watching the whole scene with a bitten lip. When he feels himself touch the entrance to her warm and inviting slit, he gently pushes forward before the tip of his cock is completely swallowed by her peppermint pussy. He continues to press on as an electric feeling travels up his length, Vikna beginning to aide him in his efforts by pulling as he pushes. The electric feeling soon turns into pressure as he slides further and further down her pulsating sex. He wants her to stop, but he feels so good that he can't even speak. All he can do is let out grunts and groans as he sinks further into her flesh. He hilts himself on her and, against his will, busts a massive, body encompassing nut straight into her womb.

“H-holy shit, that was fast!” She yells, holding him as she feels the hot spunk being emptied inside her begin to overflow. “Fuck, that's a lot!”

He continues to moan unmanly moans as he can't stop cumming, buckets and buckets being emptied into her snatch as her hungry oven takes it all in stride. He couldn't pull out if he wanted to, his knees already being too weak and his arms doing everything they could to keep him from crushing her as he busts the best nut of his entire life. His body was quivering from the effort, Vikna giving him a comforting and understanding look as she rubs her hands down his sides, making her way up to his back.

“Just let it all out.” She says, rubbing his back gently as he continues to hump her weakly. “Give it all to me~.”

He does just that, feeling the spurts begin to taper off as his knees fail, pushing himself off to the side with Vikna keeping herself attached as she spins with him. Soon, she's laying on top of him, his arms draped around her as the rest of his body goes limp. There's no way he had enough energy to keep going, even though he still wasn't satisfied. Vikna rests herself on top of him, covering him in the softest blanket he'd ever had as he rubs his cheeks against hers.

“S-sorry.” He says before his head falls back. “I-I t-tried to hold b-ah-back.”

“Well, you hilted me, so it didn't make a huge mess.” She tells him, running her tail down his leg as he smiles in response. “You like that? You're one of the strangest guys I've ever met.”

“So-oft.” Is all he says before she giggles, pulling him into a kiss.

He's a bit apprehensive at first, but her soft lips and the fur surrounding them soon changes his mind, kneading his fingers into her back fur as she licks her barbed tongue against his teeth and gums. He hisses a bit and she stops, allowing him to open his mouth again. Her tongue strays inside the alien mouth of the Marine, exploring his depths while taking extra care not to strip away any skin inside his sensitive orifice. His mouth was surprisingly small, her tongue managing to make its way all the way to the back of his throat with very little difficulty. She could definitely throat fuck him if she wanted to, but he's still riding out the afterglow of his second time. When she's satisfied with the state of his mouth, she pulls away with a smile on her face.

“Was that your first kiss too?” She asks, having met no resistance to invading his mouth with her tongue.

He nods weakly and she giggles, pulling him into a hug.

“Were you saving yourself for me?” She asks giddily, having never had sex with a kissless virgin before.

He nods again and she rubs her cheeks against his own, purring a bit as she feels his cock pulsating inside her.

“You ready for another round?” She asks.

He nods yet again and tries to thrust a bit, but falls flat. He then shakes his head and Vikna kisses the tip of his nose, pulling herself off him and keeping herself hilted inside him.

“C-come back.” He pleads sadly, prompting Vikna to do just that. “C-can't you do it from here?”

“For you, I can do anything. Except butt stuff. That's a bit too much for me.” She tells him. “I'm going to start moving now, okay?”

He nods, feeling her raise her hips as he pulls her into another kiss. She giggles into his mouth and begins moving herself gently, staying as relaxed as possible as Jack moans with delight. So this was what he was used to? She begins to pick up the pace a bit, feeling him moan into her mouth while she rubs her tail against his leg for added stimulation. She's in love with this cock of his, feeling no knots or barbs as she continues to increase her pace, already feeling him gushing precum. He pulls away from the kiss and his moans make her smile with glee, loving how she can please him just by being loose and acting as a well worn fleshlight.

“G-gonna cum.” He says. “S-so good!”

He's so sweet. She feels his member begin to pulse with delight, causing her to tighten up a bit out of instinct. How she was able to control herself for so long was a mystery, but the need to please was an itch that needed scratching more than any instinct she'd felt before. She needed him to empty his balls into her. She needed this more than he needed to cum. She wanted to prove that she wasn't some nasty bitch with daddy issues. She was a NORMAL PERSON! She was a normal girl with normal needs and wants, not some uppity cunt who wanted to ruin people's day! She feels Jack grab her ass and hold her down as he lets out another moan, Vikna tightening herself around his member as more and more alabaster jizz blew straight into her womb. HER WOMB! Not Svetsa's or Ayn's womb, HER WOMB! Vikna feels her entire body wrack with pleasure, beginning to milk him for all he's worth as the feeling of pleasing her man sends her body into an unexpected orgasm. Jack cries out with joy as Vikna does the same, arching her back as Jack thrusts a few times, shaking with ecstasy. She continues to milk his seed straight from his balls, pulling him into a kiss as an aftershock wracks her body again.

Jack can't stop cumming, as the intense feeling of being milked by a cumming furry completely whites out any and all rational thought. He could feel his balls physically shrinking as he feels what he thinks is an orgasm come from Vikna, her cries and screams of ecstasy confirming it. He pulls her back into another kiss and she hilts him, the last of his creamy essence being milked by her as her needy cunt finally calms itself down. She pulls away from the kiss and lays herself down on top of him, keeping him balls deep as she pants gently.

“I love you.” Jack says, making Vikna tense up. “O-oh fuck, I-”

“I love you too.” She says with a smile, kissing him gently before licking the nape of his neck.

When she pulls herself off him, the tightness of her twat manages to keep everything inside, making her coo with delight.

“Do you need more?” She asks, eager to please him once more.

“All the heat's gone.” He replies. “You're so fucking hot, you know that?”

“Mmm, I aim to please~.” She says, laying next to him as she traces lines down his chest. “How'd you like that?”

“I'd do it every day if I could.” He replies.

“What's stopping us?” She asks. “I'm up for going at it every night.”

“Fuck.” Jack says, laying his head back against the pillows. “Just when I thought you were the hottest woman in the world, you just have to go and get even hotter.”

She giggles at his flattery, planting a kiss on his cheek as they both lay on the bed, basking in the afterglow of sex, a little spurt of cum making its way out of Jack.

“Oops.” he says, seeing it land on Vikna's arm.

“This won't do at all.” She says, bringing herself down to his cock. “I'm gonna suck whatever's left out with my mouth.”

Before he can protest, she takes his cock down in one swift movement, making him moan yet another unmanly moan. She suckles on his tool, a sweet and salty mixture of his fluids is sucked out and swallowed. When she pulls off of his prick, she licks her lips and begins to lick her arm. When her fur is back to being unsoiled with his cum, she laps up whatever was left on his torso, cleaning the area around his cock as she tastes the mixture of his cum and her sweet juices intertwined on his crotch. When he's completely squeaky clean, she crawls her way back up to him, wrapping her arms around the man. When she pulls him into a hug, she finds he's fallen asleep.

“Damn, I really am good.” She says, wrapping her tail around him as she pulls the blankets around them both.

With that, she's off to sleep alongside him, gentle breaths and dreams of each other gracing their freshly spent minds.

14 hours later

Vikna groans, her hips feeling a bit sore as she gets herself out of bed. She stretches a bit, moving her tongue around inside her mouth before rubbing her eyes. When she looks around the room, she sees a backpack propped up against the wall and a couple bottles of pills on the night stand. She looks down at the foot of the bed and sees a new pair of clothes sitting there, looking pressed and clean. She rolls herself to the other side of the bed, flipping herself over as she picks up one of the bottles.

“Vivance?” She asks. “The hell is that?”

She picks up the other bottle and it reads “Zoloft” on it as well, describing itself as an anti-depressant while the other treats a mystery acronym called “ADHD”. She sets the bottles back on the nightstand and gets up, doing a few stretches and scratching her stomach. Vikna makes it over to the foot of the bed, beginning to don the fresh and hex fruit scented clothes. After she finishes, the door opens and Jack steps through, dressed in a different, greener uniform.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” He says affectionately. “Brought you coffee.”

“Is it with creamer?” She asks.

“One packet of creamer and one packet of sugar.” He replies.

“Just the way I like it.” She says with a smile. “You really were listening.”

“I'm always listening.” He says with a smirk, bringing the coffee over to her. “Was last night good for you?”

“It felt amazing. You came like a fountain, so it was really hard to keep it all inside. If we were compatible, I would've been so pregnant, it's not even funny.” She says before seeing the worry on his face. “We're completely incompatible! Don't worry about it, big guy.”

He chuckles at that, rubbing behind his head and handing her the coffee.

“Heh, good.” He says with a relieved sigh. “I've got a breakfast ration in my bag if you want to split that.”

“Seriously, your buddy already ate some of the food without incident. It's not going to kill you.” She tells him. “Come on, Zofie has been dying to meet you and we've been fucking or busy every time she's come around. That German soldier wants to talk with you too.”

“Well...fine. It'll be easier to explain to the quarter master if I keep my MREs on me.” He replies.

“What's with the uniform change?” She asks.

“It was infected with that bacteria. Dude hocked a fat wad of spit at me and I didn't even feel it.” Jack replies. “It's getting cleaned by nano machines.”

“Wait, how'd you know where to get coffee?” She asks.

“I asked ARA.” He replies.

“But she's down on the control deck.” Vikna replies.

“Yeah, and?” He asks.

“That's an hour long round trip.” She replies.

“Yes, and?” He repeats.

“That's too long!” She yells out, getting frustrated with his indifferent replies.

He smirks at that and licks his lips a bit.

“Yes, and?” He asks.

“Fuck you.” She says, crossing her arms.

“Is that a promise?” He asks.

“Stop!” She yells.

“Alright, I'll stop.” He says with a laugh. “I've been getting teased all morning for being with you. Just needed to let off a little steam.”

“Let's go before I strangle you.” She threatens.

“I'd seriously love to see you try.” He says with a smile. “Without magic, of course.”

“Maybe later.” She tells him with a wink.

30 minutes later

Jack is sitting down with a rather normal looking plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, the German soldier have taken a more traditional rolled bread and liverwurst. Vikna is having some kind of mystery meat and bread for breakfast while Zofie had made her own using the ingredients and kitchen. It looked like some kind of tower of meat and eggs that almost looked like a house.

“Do you know how long it's been since I've had actual liverwurst?” The German asks. “Too damn long, that's how long.”

“It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and eat breakfast at normal times.” Jack says. “I just like to sit in a seat and eat from a plate instead of a bag. Hell, I'd trade your mess kit and have a bit of rattle than have to carry around a bunch of food pouches full of 'edible food'.”

“Believe me, you have it lucky, my American friend.” He says with a smile, chewing on some liverwurst. “Food was very scarce on the Russian front. The communist swine burn everything in their path.”

“I read up on that.” Jack says. “You know your leader is a huge idiot, right? He pissed off Russia and the US at just about the same time. You know, the worlds largest powers? It's actually a wonder you held out until 1945.”

“So that's when the war ends?” He asks.

“Yeah, but you don't have to die fighting. If you want to live, just get redeployed to the west and get captured. They won't stick you in a gulag for twenty years and force you into a communist society for the rest of your natural life.” Jack replies. “Hell, take a few of your buddies with you.”

“Well, maybe with this knowledge, Germany may win the war.” He says. “Focusing our efforts on Russia may be what we need.”

“Please don't.” Jack says. “The deal you get is a lot better than the first world war. America basically single handedly helps rebuild your country into a strong and functioning society.”

“Oh well, I couldn't do anything anyway. I'm just a Field Guide.” He says. “I was only joking anyway.”

“Huh, I thought you were going to give me a German name.” Jack says.

“I did.” He replies. “Field. Guide.”

“Probably the translator.” Jack says. “So, what do you plan on doing?”

“I kind of don't want to go back now. Sure, I may have brothers who are sitting in a dank German trench, but I've got Zofie here to look after. She's a huge klutz.” He says, rubbing the top of her head with one hand and stuffing some more liverwurst in his brat hole with the other. “I plan on staying here with her. She's short staffed in the deli and I know how to cook, somewhat.”

“He's hopeless right now.” Zofie says with a smile. “I've been giving him pointers and he catches on very quickly. Unlike certain anthroids I know.”

“She was designed to relay, not cook.” Vikna says with a smile.

“What about you?” The German asks Jack. “What will you do now?”

“I...I don't know.” He says. “On one hand, I'll be called a deserter if I choose to stay, but on the other, I'll lose the only girl who's ever shown me any interest in the entirety of ever. This is one of the hardest choices I've ever had to make.”

“So it's a choice between duty and love?” Velheim asks. “That really is a tough choice. You made mine easier by saying the war was a definite loss, but I have no insight for you.”

Jack nods and continues to eat his food, feeling someone sit down next to him.

“Heard you caught a terrorist yesterday.” A male voice says with a certain amount of sass that Jack was accustomed to.

“He's lucky Vikna was there. He'd be dead if she wasn't.” The Marine replies. “I'm not a police officer, I'm a Marine.”

“Right, big badass killer. You know your buddy bagged a Kirov last night, right?” The man asks, causing Jack to turn around. “Guh, your face isn't nearly as pretty as Val's.”

“You know it, big fuzz.” A distinctly urban voice replies beyond him.

“Gee, thanks.” Jack says, looking down at his food, which is nearly done. “Hey, Vikna, do you go out and patrol the Tower when you're not sitting in the control room?”

“Not really. I'm not security, so I don't go on patrol. Nytro is a temp here, so if you want patrols, go with him.” She replies.

“Hard pass.” Jack says. “I don't trust anyone else to watch my back.”

“Rude.” The hybrid tells him.

“You started it.” Jack responds.

“Name's Nytro, with a y.” He tells Jack, holding out his hand. “Local enforcer.”

“Lance Corporal Haigs. Call me Jack.” The Marine replies, taking his hand and shaking it. “So he bagged that fucking asshole?”

“Got himself a Vice-Kirov too. Think they're still going too.” He replies. “Caught reprofever from that fox. Also heard you caught it too.”

“Need to know basis.” Jack says, eating the last of his toast. “I'm gonna get going. Dude assigned to her said he wanted someone to take over ASAP.”

“Shit, that's right!” Vikna says, grabbing whatever was left of her breakfast and jumping up. “Meet you there!”

She rushes out of the cafeteria in a hurry, leaving Jack to sit there and wonder how she could run so fast. He gets up, but feels a hand on his arm before he can rise.

“Promise you'll be good to her.” Nytro says sternly. “She's been fucked over by every single other guy she's been with. I don't want her coming around my apartment and telling me some alien broke her heart.”

He looks back at the hybrid, a firm look on his face.

“I'll be back.” Is all Jack says, tugging his arm away from the hybrid before following after Vikna.

2 hours later

Jack and Vikna are back in their usual seating arrangement, both watching as ARA gets her early morning heavy load out of the way. Jack looks around at all the previously unnamed AI, seeing the short feline named SRK talking into a microphone looking device while a huge Avidae called TVK plots a few courses for ships coming in. The one with wires hanging out of her hair, a Kleyka named ZTA, is also talking into a microphone while the seat for BST is still absent, though Vikna says it's for good reason. When she looks back at Jack, she sees the tablet in his lap and sees a video is playing of very odd looking wheeled vehicles. They looked like large boxes with guns on top of them, like something a toddler would draw when they were asked to make a car. Jack looks down at her and sees her looking at it, giving her a better look as he unplugs his ear buds.

“Want to watch?” Jack asks.

“No, I'm fine.” She replies. “Saw you lagged behind. What was that all about?”

“It was...nothing.” He lies.

“Jack, don't lie to me.” She tells him sternly, giving him an unamused look.

“I...Nytro told me not to leave you.” The Marine tells her.

Her ears fold back at the mention of him leaving her, a hand reaching out to his as he clicks the lock button on the tablet.

“Well...what did you say?” She asks.

“I'll be back.” He replies.

Present day

Both of them lay back down on the bed, huffing and puffing as Vikna puts an arm around her husband.

“And so, you came.” She says with a smile, licking the side of his neck with her de-barbed tongue. “My hero.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.” He tells her. “Think we should get dressed and get this ship on a roll?”

“Aw, I wanted to lay in bed all day.” She says, his semen beginning to drip from her hole. “Fine, I'll get a towel from the bathroom and we can both wipe ourselves off.”

1 hour later

Vikna is sitting on the bridge, Rei looking out at the stars as the AI are busy typing away and moving screens around as the crew get to their stations around her. The spacious bridge made it feel like she actually had plenty of room to stretch her legs, even though the bridge on her EW ship was plenty large enough for that. Jack is walking around the bridge, asking people if they're okay and trying his best to understand what's going on. She chuckles at that, watching him walk around the bridge before finally walking back to her. He gives her a crisp salute, standing at attention for his wife.

“At ease.” She says, watching as he folds his arms behind him and spread his legs. “How's the crew looking, sailor?”

“Everyone's ready to set sail, ma'am.” He replies rigidly.

“Good, good.” She says, clasping her hands together. “Vale, take us away from the station!”

“Aye, ma'am!” The avidae says excitedly, the ship beginning to yaw away from the station. “Confirmed separation.”

“As you were First Sergeant.” Vikna says, prompting Jack to turn back toward the window as she stands up. “Plot a course toward Serko. Double jump.”

“We only need one jump, Kav-er, Kirov. The FTL drives are much more modern than the electronic warfare ship you previously commanded.” Vale informs her. “Plotting a single jump to space above Serko.”

“Single jump? Nice.” Vikna says with a smirk, watching as the shutters close. “How are the engines?”

“Engines are spooled up and ready to go, ma'am.” A horse anthro replies. “Ready to jump as soon as we're clear of the station.”

Minutes pass as Vikna looks over at Jack, who's looking over at Franklin and Zofie, both of whom were sitting down and preoccupying themselves. When she looks back toward the window, a blue countdown pops up in common numbers, making her chuckle a bit at how widespread the language had become. When it reaches 30 seconds, the navigation officer and Vale both nod to each other.

“Jump in 5...4...3...2...1...jump.” Vale says as the craft lurches forward, the familiar feeling of FTL fatigue setting in before quickly passing.

The shutters are covered over by a video display of a rotating light show of blue and white streaks, swirling around a bit before the spinning stops.

“FTL travel stabilized.” Vale says. “We will arrive within the hour.”

“Fantastic. ARA, how's our data flow looking within the ship?” Vikna asks.

“It's a brand new ship with thirty two petabyte upload and sixty four petabyte download capability. We're at light load, miss Vikna.” ARA replies with a smile, her eyes flashing green.

“Zeta, how're our systems and AI looking?” She asks the Kleyka.

“Everything's green and the AI are running as we'd expect. I must thank you for recommending new cables, as data transfer rates on this ship were much higher than my form was designed to handle.” The somewhat angry looking Kleyka responds.

“Perks of being new!” ARA chimes in with a smile, having not needed an upgrade since her form was introduced six months after the introduction of K2 ports.

“Warning, status on the PA and alert systems?” Vikna asks, seeing the nervous looking AI fidgeting in her seat.

“T-this unit finds they're f-fully functional!” She replies with a bit of a stutter.

Vikna sees Jack make his way over to SRK as she looks toward the BST unit, the apex unit having not been available nor wanting to come.

“Weapons are online, ma'am.” The fox looking anthroid says, watching the human make his way to Warning. “Permission to prosecute-”

“You will do no such thing.” Vikna snaps. “He is to be treated as my equal. Understand?”

“Yes, ma'am.” He replies.

Jack makes his way to Warning before stopping at the fidgeting feline's side, seeing her parting hairs on her fur and exposing her yellow flesh to the world. The man crouches down beside her, grabbing her attention immediately as she blushes a bit at his presence.

“What's up?” He asks. “Something bothering you?”

“There's no alert center for this unit onboard the ship. It's all here on the bridge and this unit fears her lack of social skills may negatively impact crew reception.” Warning replies, looking over at him before swiftly looking away.

“Hey, you'll be fine.” Jack says. “You're my friend, remember?”

“This unit is considered a friend of yours?” She asks, her ears perking up a bit. “She has not spent very much time with you in any capacity.”

“A friend of my friend is a friend of mine.” Jack says with a smile, petting her head gently. “If anyone gives you any trouble, give me a call. Ask ARA for my number and she'll give it to you.”

“This unit does not need protection...but she thanks you anyway.” The midget feline replies with a grateful smile.

“Anything else on your mind?” He asks.

“I-it's this unit's architecture. She's still on the original K-class while ARA and Mother have all been upgraded to K2-class architecture. This unit is basically handicapped aboard a vessel with architecture of this magnitude, only having one petabyte upload and three download. It's very frustrating when everything else has been upgraded to accommodate this new architecture EXCEPT the architecture itself.” She explains, getting flustered as ARA's attention is now drawn to her. “This unit is not in the best of moods about being left behind on a technological front, since she is an apex model.”

“I thought you didn't desire upgrades.” Jack says.

“This unit does not just 'desire upgrades', she needs them to do her job efficiently. If she is unable to get a warning out to the fleet and ship fast enough, it will be disastrous for everyone involved.” Warning replies. “This is why this unit wants to get an upgrade. Lives may depend on her ability to distribute an alert or translate a language being spoken.”

“Well, do you want me to put a word in? I can definitely help get the word out.” Jack tells her.

“Don't worry, SRK, I've already passed the word down.” ARA says with a smile. “Thank you for your help, mister Jackson, but I think the situation is under control.”

“Yes, what ARA says. This unit is grateful for your help.” Warning adds with the same smile.

Jack nods, getting up from the floor as he makes his way back to Vikna.

“Kirov, there's a problem.” Vale says, typing quickly into the console as he looks back at her with worry in his eyes. “There's a ship blocking the FTL lane. Looks like a derelict ship that drifted into the lane.”

“Can we plot around it?” Vikna asks.

“Not at FTL, no.” He replies.

“Then drop out of FTL and plot a new course around.” Vikna says. “I'm not taking any chances with any of this. Zeta, as soon as we're out of FTL, do a deep scan of the area around us. Try and pick up any cloaked EW vessels first before scanning for any of the bigger fish.”

Just as she says that, the ship lurches backward and the shutters open, a wave that looks like a sonar ping going across the vast emptiness of space.

“Single contact, small ship.” BST replies.

“Attempting to hail.” ZTA says. “Attention unidentified vessel. You are parked in an Empire FTL lane. Vacate immediately or you will be engaged.”

Vikna watches ZTA nod a few times, looking back at her.

“They're requesting an audience. They say they're in a life pod. Some of Bhainen's men want to defect.” She says.

“Open coms, but keep a tight lid on anything coming in or going out.” Vikna replies.

A large, round cylinder pops up from the floor and a hologram projects from it, a tattered Katrician Initiate uniform being present on the chinchilla anthro.

“Name and serial.” Vikna says with a business-like coldness that Jack had never really seen before.

“V-Vikna?!” The chinchilla asks before saluting rigidly. “My name is Alastro Falanoci. Seven, twenty one, thirty four lambda.”

The serial lines up with the hologram, a scan going over her body before giving a confirmatory beep.

“So, how many souls do you have onboard?” Vikna asks.

“Four, including myself.” She replies. “I-it's an honor to meet you!”

“What are you doing out here in the middle of an FTL lane? Your emergency beacons are offline and we nearly rammed you.” The Kirov says with a bit of ire.

“We tried to activate our beacons before you approached, but they were damaged in the ejection. We need to tell you that the FTL lane is being booby trapped by Bhainen's men. They pushed a piece of an old EW vessel into the lane and are planning to ambush you when you stop to traverse around it.” The woman explains. “My subordinates are really scared, Kirov. We can tell you more if you at least promise to tell the others where we are.”

“We'll take you aboard.” Vikna says. “You'll be in the brig and strip searched thoroughly before reporting to me.”

“Thank you!” She says excitedly. “We'll make sure to be of use!”

“Sure you will.” Vikna says in an almost condescending manner. “Alright, put everyone on combat alert. If we get taken out of FTL, we'll need to fight our way out of a force that's likely superior to our own. Though I doubt we will, since Vale is such a good navigator.”

“Yes, ma'am!” He says, giving a mock Earth salute before going back to typing on a couple consoles.

Jack sits around idly as the shutters close again, turning back to Vikna and making his way over to her.

“Want me to interrogate them?” Jack asks.

“No, I think they're being sincere. I've learned to tell deceit from truth since the...incident.” She replies. “Besides, I've got Earth's finest guarding me. I think I'm safer now than I ever was at the Tower.”

“Copy that.” Jack says with a smile, turning back around and making his rounds.

30 minutes later

Vale had managed to successfully navigate the debris field in FTL, in no small part due to the K2 architecture he received and his excellent Kaltag programmers. The deserters were set to arrive on deck in a bit, which was making Jack a bit nervous. He wasn't sure letting the deserters aboard was a good call, but it was Vikna's call to make. She was his superior right now, not his equal, even if she says he is. Jack had also made sure to remove Franklin from the bridge, which made him sad until Fluff offered to play a game with him. When the door to the bridge is opened, the short chinchilla girl comes in, somehow being even shorter than Vikna was. She is flanked by two security anthroids, holding weapons in their hands as they stop just short of the first row of consoles.

“Escort mission complete.” One of them says.

Vikna gets up from her Captain's chair, making her way over to the chinchilla as the woman looks back at her with fascination and wonder. Vikna regards her with indifference, looking her up and down before waving the two anthroids away.

“V-Vikna, the real Vikna, I-I'm so-”

“I don't think I spoke to you, did I?” Vikna asks with barely hidden ire that pulls Jack from his rounds. “Stand at the position of attention, sailor.”

The chinchilla does just that, standing at attention as Vikna looks over her tattered uniform.

“I-I apologi-”

“Do not speak until spoken too!” Vikna yells, grabbing the attention of a few crew members while the rest work diligently. “Am I clear?!”

“Y-yes Kirov!” She blurts out, her tail going straight as she begins to shake with fear.

“So, you deserted Bhainen's ship to warn us that he was coming?” Vikna asks rhetorically. “That must've taken a lot of balls.”

Vikna paces around the scared-stiff chinchilla, looking the woman over as she makes it back to the front with anger beginning to brew up.

“It also must've taken a lot of balls to DESERT THE KATRICIAN NAVY!” Vikna shouts angrily, stomping her foot down on the boot of the Initiate, causing her to yelp in pain, grabbing her foot. “STAND AT ATTENTION, SAILOR!”

The chinchilla drops her foot and stands at attention shakily, Jack now giving Vikna his full attention.

“You took an oath, sailor. An oath to uphold all that is good on Katric and to serve the Empire, not some maniac with a murder fetish!” She says. “Clench your jaw!”

The chinchilla clenches her jaw and Vikna throws a nasty punch, bringing the fluffy woman to her knees.

“GET UP!” Vikna screams, enraged at the deserter before her. “GET OFF THE GROUND!”

The chinchilla gets off the ground shakily, tears welling up in her eyes as she stands back at attention.

“I can't believe you'd do something as stupid as run off with that maniac.” Vikna tells her, fists clenched as she continues to berate the quivering subordinate. “How anyone with even a single brain cell could ever swear themselves to a naval officer instead of their planet is beyond me. This galaxy continues to surprise me with all the spineless worms that inhabit it! CLENCH!”

The chinchilla clenches her jaw again and Vikna delivers another blow, bringing the officer to the ground as she gets herself up off the ground, Vikna slamming her fist down on top of the fuzzy chinchilla's head. The woman falls to the floor, beginning to sob as she tries her best to get back up. Jack makes his way over to Vikna as the chinchilla gets up, standing shakily at the position of attention. When Vikna rears her fist back again, Jack catches it, spinning her around as she struggles to free herself from his grasp.

“You've made your point.” Jack says calmly.

“Let me go! She's a traitor!” Vikna yells angrily, the rage in her eyes blinding her to what she was doing. “She deserves no mercy! Spineless worms deserve no mercy!”

“Calm down.” Jack says, holding her by the shoulders now.

He feels an icy chill begin making its way up his arm and he brings her up to the wall, setting her against it as they're both out of the crew's line of sight.

“If you freeze my arm, I'm going to retaliate.” He tells her, the icy feeling going away as she realizes he's not joking. “Thank you. I'll handle the rest of this.”

She looks down at the ground in shame as Jack makes his way over to the sobbing chinchilla, still standing shakily at the position of attention.

“Sailor, you've been convicted as a traitor by a senior officer of the Katrician Navy and a senior NCO of the United States Marine Corps.” Jack says, grabbing hold of the medals on her collar. “I am going to cashier you in a manner befitting of my rank and stature, ma'am.”

“W-what?” She asks.

He rips the medal off her collar, tearing a piece of cloth with it as she looks down in horror. He tears off a few more insignia before going for the cheap looking ribbons and tearing them off too. She's trembling as he grabs her sleeves, pulling down and tearing them so her elbows were visible to the world. He then takes her sidearm, which he found curious that the anthroids didn't relieve her of. The Marine unloads her pistol, racking the slide and confirming it's clear before taking it in his hands, slowly but surely bending the pistol into an unusable state.

“You will not return to your duties. You will not reenlist. You will never sail aboard a Katrician military vessel ever again. Am I making myself clear?” Jack asks, tossing the useless weapon on the floor before stomping on her medals and ribbons.

“Y-yes, First Sergeant.” She replies in fear of the large man in front of her.

“Good. Make your way to the brig. You will be put on a civilian transport ship along with your enlisted personnel when we land.” The Marine tells her. “Tend to any injuries you have when you reach the brig. Dismissed.”

She gives him a salute and he salutes back, watching her turn about face and limping toward the door. When she leaves, he makes his way back over to Vikna.

“Don't do that again. We meet any more traitors, we cashier them. We don't beat them until they're a crying mess of fur on the floor.” Jack tells her quietly. “Have I made myself clear?”

“This is my vessel.” She says.

“Though that may be, there are rules when it comes to this kind of thing. You can make as much of a show out of it as you want, as long as you don't physically hurt the people you're making a show of. I know you probably don't have it here, or practice it regularly, but cashiering is the highest form of humiliation for an officer. I basically denounced her from the Katrician Navy, which you should've done instead.” He tells her before hushing his tone. “You think you're the only one angry at these assholes? I'm pissed as fuck, but I let my anger out off the clock. It's okay to be angry, but you need to be angry in your own time, not on the clock. Okay?”

“Okay.” She says.

“I love you, sweetheart.” He says in almost a whisper, pulling her into a hug. “We gotta stay strong.”

She nods, holding him for a bit before they both let go.

“Let's just get to Serko before any more drama happens.” She says, taking a deep breath. “I'll address the crew when we get in orbit.”

1 hour later

Jack was sitting down on the bed, petting Vikna gently as she lays her head down on his shoulder. She had just explained herself, saying that traitors like that Initiate are why the civil conflict arose in the first place. The reason why her mother died. Jack understood, but she needed to be stronger than her anger. Stronger than the need to punish those who wronged the Navy in a destructive manner. He also told her that he was more than willing to take charge of punishment if she wasn't able to do it. She agreed, allowing Jack to take on the roll of judge, jury, and executioner.

“So, you can't execute officers who disobey orders, right?” Jack asks.

“No, that practice is barbaric and led to the deaths of many great officers who were led by corrupt men.” She says. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” He replies. “Need to make sure it's not justified in this universe.”

“Believe me, if I could've shot that woman, I would've.” She tells him. “Think we should get going planet side?”

“I think that'd be a great idea.” Jack says, scratching behind her ears as she lets out a cute little mew.

1 more hour later

When the shuttle docks at the star port, Jack, Vikna, Zofie, Nytro, and Franklin all stand up. The door to the shuttle opens and the noise of a local star port was actually pretty tame compared to anything back on earth. Jack is the first one out, followed by everyone else as the bags are manipulated onto the ground by a tractor beam. When all the bags were offloaded, the shuttle closes the door and takes off, no real jet wash being emitted from the civilian grade thrusters as it takes back off toward the stars.

“I can take you all back to my bakery if you want. Maybe opening it for a while wouldn't hurt.” Zofie says, grabbing her small bag as Nytro grabs his. “Yeah, I can make all of you something nice before you all go on that tour.”

“You sure? I don't want to bring my bad luck into the bakery.” Jack says, looking back at here with a bit of worry.

“I'll be fine.” She says. “I've taken charge of my own well being.”

“No fighting with the locals, alright?” Nytro asks Jack. “I will arrest you on the spot if you try anything.”

“Shut up, Nytro.” Vikna says. “He won't do anything.”

“Daddy, are we back home again?” Franklin asks, a bit disappointed.

“No, we're still in the space world.” Jack replies. “We're on another planet.”

“Wow!” The little feline says, looking around and noticing all the little details now. “Look at the lights! The signs are all squiggly too!”

Jack chuckles at that, figuring that the old world district hasn't upgraded to common signs yet.

“Hey, did you all think you'd leave me behind?” Fluff asks, causing Jack to turn around.

“I'm not missing an opportunity to cook with miss Zofie in her own kitchen.” ARA says as well, following the blue bird as they both close in on the group.

“Oh, uh, sure!” Zofie says uneasily. “Just, uh, let me make something for everyone first.”

“Of course, I learned my lesson about time management in cooking the last time.” ARA tells her, chuckling a bit. “Let's go, I want to get there before Mother realizes I've gone!”

“ARA, I let you come with us.” Fluff says before Jack chuckles.

“I think she's joking.” The dressed up Marine tells the bird. “That was pretty smart.”

“At least someone got it. My personality doesn't stay static anymore, mister FluffKevlar.” She says with a teasing smirk.

“I told you not to call me that!” He says, blushing profusely.

Vikna and ARA both chuckle at him being flustered, his feathers puffing out considerably as he shakes himself a bit.

“Let's get going before I start molting.” The bird continues.

Yet another hour later

Jack is sitting at a table with Vikna by his side, ARA and Fluff sitting across from him as Nytro leans against a wall. He glanced over at the table from time to time, giving Jack an unfriendly and icy glare every time the well dressed man meets his gaze. The door to the establishment rings and the last person Jack expected to enter comes in, a large, well trimmed mustache adorning his lips. Nytro is about to stop the man, but the glare he gives him seems to put the hybrid in his place. When the well built man makes his way to the counter, he looks back, his eyes meeting Jack as his pale lips curl into a smile.

“Oh my god, is it really you?” The very British man asks in surprise, making his way to the table before laughing jovially. “Bloody 'ell, it is you! How ya doin' you big oaf?”

“Not as good as you look.” Jack replies, getting up and shaking his hand firmly. “Jesus, how long's it been, seven years?”

“Around three and a half for me, maybe more. Can't really keep track 'a time here.” The dangerously British man replies. “How's the wife doing?”

“Ask for yourself.” Jack says, gesturing toward Vikna.

“I'm doing well. So, you're one of my husband's friends?” She asks.

“Yep, fought alongside this tosser on at least half of his patrols.” The man replies. “Name's Rodney, ma'am.”

“Vikna, pleased to meet you.” She says with a smile.

“So, did you take up my offer?” The guy asks, an expectant smile across his face.

“Yeah, I went through the whole seven and a half months.” Jack replies.

“Atta boy.” Rodney says, patting Jack on the back hard.

“Here, let me get you a chair while we wait.” The Marine says, making his way over to a stack of inactive hover-chairs.

He turns one on and it nearly leaps into the ceiling, causing Nytro to laugh as Jack catches the seat mid-fall. When he brings the floating seat over, setting it at its natural hovering height as the former SAS member stands respectfully. When the Marine offers him the seat, he sits down, moving the seat toward the table as Jack goes back to sitting next to the Kirov.

“So, what've you been up to all this time?” He asks.

“Raising a kid, running a ranch, practicing drills, normal stuff.” Jack replies.

“Holy shit, you just dropped a lot of info on me at once. You have a kid?” He asks.

“Yeah, he's a beautiful boy. Feline of course, because I figured she'd want a kitten.” Jack replies. “Bought a ranch out in the middle of Montana to raise horses and cattle. It's pretty comfy, until it's not.”

“All the demons and shite, right?” He asks with a smirk.

“You say that like he's joking.” The blue bird interjects.

“Well, I guess if the almighty god of this universe says it's so, I guess it's so.” The man says sarcastically. “I've been making myself useful by runnin' an exchange service and working as a post man. Found myself a girlfriend a while back. Her name's Slavina.”

“Cool, what's she like?” The Marine asks.

“She's a sweetheart through and through. Probably the most innocent girl I've ever seen.” He says. “Stark contrast to this rough and grizzled arsehole, ain't it?”

“Nice.” The Marine tells him. “What about the SF living around here?”

“All of them have settled in nicely. Most have found a girl and they're all working in one of the towns outside the old world district. Used to actually think this kind of thing was degenerate, but now I see they're not just furry fuck puppets. They're people, just like you and I.” He replies.

The bell to the door rings and an anthro comes in the bakery, looking a bit displeased with, well, life. As he walks into the bakery, Nytro looks at him with a bit of confusion before clearing his throat.

“Hey, buddy, you're not allowed in here.” Nytro says, getting up from the corner.

“I'm a friend of Zofie's, Ark.” The man says, producing a badge. “Back to your corner, skinny.”

Nytro stands rigid, giving the man a salute as Vikna chuckles.

“So that's what your name is!” She says with a smile. “Somebody better pick up that phone, because I called it!”

Nytro makes his way back to the corner, looking defeated as he's bullied into submission for the second time today.

“This guy's trouble.” Rodney whispers to the Marine. “Guy gets drunk at the local pub every day and gets more and more angry every time.”

“Just stay cool.” He tells the mustached man. “Maybe he'll leave with his cake once he gets it.”

Zofie comes out of the kitchen, the massive leopard at the counter having rung the bell while the two were whispering. The look on her face made it very evident that she wasn't going to take this lying down.

“My bakery's closed for the month.” She tells him. “Sorry, but you can't be in here.”

“I'm a marshal, of course I can be in here.” He says.

“I don't make exceptions for a pretty uniform.” She says. “Get out of my bakery.”

“Are you asking me to call the health inspectors?” The marshal asks.

“Go right on ahead.” She says. “I passed the health and safety inspection last week, I'll pass it again.”

“Are you sure about that?” He asks, grabbing her hair and pulling out a strand in the blink of an eye. “What's that I see in your food?”

He drops the long strand of hair on top of the rather delicious looking bread and meat. She looks down in horror, looking back up at the man as he takes a picture of the food.

“I also see you're not adhering to the food service standards set in place almost fifteen years ago, by your father no less.” He says, looking back at all the objects in the kitchen. “With all of that flammable material in the back, I'm surprised the place hasn't burned down again.”

“Watch it, fat ass.” She says, grinding her teeth. “It's all coated in flame retardant.”

“Don't bare your teeth at me, young woman.” The officer says, reaching for his holster.

“Go ahead and shoot me, asshole.” She tells him. “It'll look real good on your record.”

He pulls the gun out of his holster, pointing it directly at her chest as all the fight drains out of her, almost visibly.

“There we go. Be a good little girl and make me a sandwich.” The man says, making the SAS soldier get up. “You take one more step towards me and I'll end her life, you understand?”

“Y-you're nothing but a petty criminal.” She says. “Nytro, do something!”

“If he moves, even an inch, you die sweetheart.” He says with a smile. “Don't think either of you can shoot either. Weapon suppression field is active and all your guns'll do is go click.”

Jack sighs, even though he wasn't going to do anything but let the situation take its course.

“Fucking hero types like you got balls coming around our district. We don't want you here after you up and abandoned us.” The man continues. “Now, dear, would you mind doing as the man in here has asked and get back in the kitchen?”

“I...” She says before looking down at something Jack can't see. “I will.”

She walks back into the kitchen and the leopard's ears swivel, looking back over at the glass to the shop.

“What the fuck?” He asks.

After that, the chatter of an automatic weapon erupts from outside, breaking the glass as Jack pushes Vikna below the table. The man in front of the counter is pumped full of lead as a man steps through the broken glass, a battered Stahlhelme on his head and a gas mask on his face. He drops the magazine from an equally battered looking MP40, putting another magazine inside the gun before racking the charging handle back. A device sits sparking on the ground as the SAS soldier gets up, Jack pulling him back before he can intervene.

“Du Hurensohn.” The man says, muffled by the gasmask. “Richten Sie keine Waffe auf eine Dame.”

The man is clutching at his chest, which seems to be covered in a vest of some kind.

“Es tut weh, nicht wahr?” He asks. “Using all these fancy vests, but you don't seem to realize a bullet still hurts when you're shot.”

Zofie comes barging out of the room, glaring at Jack before looking over at the man in a German helmet.

“W-what?” She asks, squinting her eyes at him.

“Nytro, put this man under arrest before I put him down.” The man says, his thick German accent overpowering even Zofie's. “All dogs go to heaven, right?”

“I-I'm a leopard...” He says.

“Then you'll burn in hell like the rest of the animals.” The German says, putting a boot on top of his chest.

“Marshal, you're an idiot.” Nytro says, getting in front of the German soldier before flipping the large leopard over. “You're under arrest for assault, among a whole load of other things.”

The German nods, looking over to Zofie for a brief moment before Jack has an epiphany.

“Velheim?” Jack asks.

The German man stops, turning back toward the table as Jack gets up. The man looks at him through the gas mask, taking off his helmet and tearing off the mask. He was growing a stubble and his hair was greasy and unkempt. The long, flowing blonde hair dropped from under the helmet as a few scars make themselves present along his face. He'd been around the block a few times.

“Ja?” He asks.

“VELHEIM!” Zofie nearly screams, tackling the German soldier to the ground as she begins licking his face, like a lost dog finding her owner again. “I-I missed you!”

“You remember me?” He asks. “The Lavor wiped your memory though...”

“I remember everything now! He...he said the magic word! The word that breaks the block!” She says, holding him close as her tail begins wagging at mach speed. “I never thought I'd see you again! I always thought those dreams were of herr Jackson, but they were all you! All of them were you!”

She continues to whuff happily as she licks his face a few more times, Velheim giving in and petting the long, braided hair of the German spaniel. Then, she must've realized something, as her tail stops wagging and her ears droop even lower than they usually do.

“B-but, I have a fiance right now.” She says, looking down at the ground. “I-I'm kind of stuck.”

“Oh really? That's...that's good.” He says, his face betraying his words. “That's good for you.”

“Velheim, I didn't know...” She says, holding him close as her tail begins wagging at a slower pace. “Dell...he's a great guy. I can't just leave him.”

“Spots, the guy has an alcohol problem.” Nytro says, hoisting the fat leopard off the ground. “Come on, lard barrel, let's put you in the slammer. I like this other guy though. Scars are bad ass.”

Zofie looks up at Nytro as he leaves her bakery, looking back down at Velheim as Jack looks back at everyone. ARA is holding herself onto Fluff's chest, using herself as makeshift armor while the big blue bird blushes at her action. Vikna is now looking over at Zofie and Velheim, poking Jack in the arm and smiling up at him. She mouths “couple number two” to him and he blushes a bit, going back to watching the two.

“Has he hit you?” The man asks, putting a hand up to her face.

“N-not unless I'm in a mood.” She replies. “Then he'll smack me.”

“You poor thing.” He says, pulling her into a hug. “Do you want me to talk him for you?”

“I-I'd like that. B-but first, I'd like to finish making food. I'll make your favorite!” She says excitedly, getting up and stepping over the sand-like safety glass. “I'll be back!”

With that, the excited canine rushes into the back, ARA making her way off of the thoroughly flustered bird as she too blushes.

“S-sorry, my protocols required me to cover you in the case of a shooting. This seating arrangement doesn't allow for very many options in terms of positioning.” She says with a blue blush. “I didn't mean anything by it.”

“I know you didn't.” Fluff tells her with a relieved smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” She says, giving him a smile in return.

Rodney gets up from the ground, putting away what looked like a massive and chunky USP, which Jack immediately recognizes as a Mk.23. When both of them are off the ground, they see the German laying his head back on the ground, eyes closed in discontent. Jack makes his way over to Velheim first, holding a hand out and clearing his throat, the German taking his hand before the man pulls him up.

“You exude an aura of power mein old friend.” He says with a smile. “No longer speaking German either.”

“I never could in the first place. Your assumptions about Americans are mostly correct.” The Marine says with a chuckle. “I see you're still roaming around the old world district. How's it been?”

“Rough, to say the least.” He says, bootfalls being heard behind them as Jack draws his pistol in a flash.

Some humans with M4s and SCARs make their way to the shop, pointing their weapons at the two before seeing the uniform the Marine was in.

“Is it clear in there?!” One of the men asks.

“Yeah, it's clear!” The Marine yells back. “We've got it under control!”

“You sure?! That bum likes to follow women home!” The same man with the SCAR tells him.

“Go back home, snowflakes! We've got this!” Jack yells back, prompting them all to walk away, a bit sad they didn't get to ventilate anything.

The German looks down at the floor, sighing gently before looking back up at the man.

“I followed Zofie back to her parking lot nearly every day for the past 5 years. I never go in the apartment with her, never make myself known, but I'm a deterrent to any would-be robbers, if not because I look like I'm targeting her myself. Anyone who tries to get behind her, I take back into an alleyway and beat senseless.” The German explains. “I never look at her for long and I always stay far enough back that she can't hear me, so she never knew I was there. I guess it does look like I'm being a schleich when I follow her around like that, but my intentions were pure, I promise.”

“I can understand that.” Jack says.

“You know, this isn't a slum, right?” Fluff asks. “It's just a different district.”

“There's crime in any city.” Jack replies, not bothering to look back. “I don't know what would've happened if you got close to her, so you did the right thing.”

“Danke.” He tells the man.

“That was really quick!” Zofie says excitedly, nearly sprinting out of the kitchen. “Schnitzel and apple strudel!”

“You remembered!” He says with a wide smile, making his way past Jack. “I'm so glad!”

She nods, setting down a couple plates of it on opposite sides as she makes her way to the table Jack was sitting at. She sets down a series of plates, keeping the tray balanced while she sets all the food down.

“Don't mind the hair, I washed myself this morning.” She says, picking a hair out of Jack's plate. “Sorry!”

He nods and Zofie runs over to Velheim, basically dragging him over to the other table as Jack sits back down in the booth.

“The fuck just happened?” Rodney asks.

“He's an old friend. Real old friend.” Jack replies. “Want some, uh, predopa-something steak?”

“Predepodis steak.” Vikna and Fluff both correct.

“You owe me a Coke.” Fluff says. “Wait, where's Franklin?”

“In the back, taking a nap.” Zofie replies. “I'm amazed he was able to sleep through all that.”

“I do a lot of shooting in the yard. He got used to the sound after a while.” Jack adds.

The bird just sighs, sliding down his chair a bit with disappointment.

“Do either of you want to at least check?” He asks in a more annoyed tone.

“I guess I can wait a little longer.” Jack says. “Hey, do you still have the window tool to repair Zofie's glass?”

“I do, let me go fix it real quick.” She says, taking the small device out of her pocket. “Go check on him so the worry wart will stop worrying.”

The Marine nods, making his way toward and then past the counter, going back into the kitchen as Zofie and Velheim catch up. When he makes it into the back room, he sees a cot is pulled up at the back of the shop, Franklin looking up at his dad as he lays in the cot. He's shaking like a leaf, his eyes wide with fear as he tries to shrink down under the covers.

“Oh shit.” Jack says, his heart sinking down into the bottom of his feet. “I'm so sorry!”

He makes his way to his boy, pulling him into a hug as his son hugs him back, the feline shivering in fear as his dad holds him close.

“I-I was scared daddy.” Franklin tells him, still shivering with fear. “There were gunshots and screaming.”

“You're safe now, kiddo. You were so brave. You did exactly what I said to do and I'm so proud of you.” He says, rubbing his son's back as he comforts the boy. “The bad guy is in jail now. You can come sit with mommy and daddy if you want.”

“Carry me?” The boy asks.

“I'll carry you.” He replies. “Let's go see mommy.”

Jack hoists Franklin out of the cot, his tail being the last thing that comes out before he curls it around his body. When the man makes his way out of the kitchen, the blue bird has a smug look on his face. Vikna looked over as well, seeing Franklin being carried for the first time since he was 5. When the man makes it to the table, the blue bird chuckles as he knows he'd made the right choice.

“You hungry?” Jack asks.

“Y-yeah.” The boy replies. “I want some milk too.”

“I'll go make you something to eat real quick.” The Marine tells his son, rubbing him on the head.

The kitten begins purring soon after, watching as Jack makes his way to the table behind his own, seeing Zofie and Velheim just staring at each other. The uniformed Marine taps on her shoulder, breaking her out of her trance.

“Um, ja?” She asks.

“Mind if I use the kitchen?” Jack asks. “I want to make something light for Franklin.”

“Sure, just don't touch anything you don't know what to do with.” She says. “Sandwich supplies are marked sandwiches under the icing drawer.”

Jack nods, making his way toward the kitchen again. What the fuck has he done to his son?

10 minutes later

Jack hurries back out with a grilled cheese and a small cup of milk, seeing Franklin laying on Vikna's shoulder. His food was untouched, but Vikna had already eaten most of hers. There was a strange device hovering over the Marine's meal, steam still coming from the food as he sets down the split grilled cheese in front of Franklin. He gives him the same smile his dad used to give him when he handed him some food, a sense of nostalgia coming over him as Franklin smiles back.

“Thanks, daddy.” He says, taking a half of the sandwich and munching down on it.

“I guess you found some of that cheese.” Vikna says with a smile. “I can smell it in the sandwich.”

“I'm surprised she even had any laying around.” Jack says. “Much less that it was still edible.”

“Of course I kept it. I found that it's really good cheese for baking and using in a sort of cheesecake-like confection. I call it a cheese melt.” Zofie adds from the other table. “Good thing you gave me the recipe. Lots of people like it.”

“Thank you, daddy. I didn't know you could cook.” The feline tells him with a smile, a bit of cheese stuck to the fur around his lips. “This is really good.”

“I didn't know mommy could cook either.” Jack says before Vikna flicks his cheek. “Ow! Your claws hurt!”

Franklin giggles at his father's misfortune, causing him to laugh as well.

“Your family dynamic is...weird.” The blue bird says. “I've got some calls to make. Gotta call some ambassadors and public officials. They'll want to set up a formal meeting and some kind of speech.”

The man gets up from the table, ARA about to follow before Fluff gives her a nod. She smiles, sitting back in the booth and looking over at the family before her. Jack flicks the device away from his food, seeing it spin around as it floats across the bakery.

“Mister Franklin, are you okay?” ARA asks the feline.

“I'm fine misses ARA.” He replies. “Daddy told me that if I ever heard shots, that I should hide under my bed and play dead. I couldn't get under the cot, so I played dead under the covers!”

“That's...an adequate strategy.” She tells him. “Would you like me to make desert for you?”

“NO!” Vikna shouts suddenly, looking back at a spooked ARA before clearing her throat. “Uh, no thank you.”

“Miss Vikna, I promise I've improved since last time. I can now make things that are edible as well as tasting great. Well, tasting great to me.” The anthroid tells her. “I promise it won't make your son sick.”

“I think we'll pass for now.” Jack says politely.

“What, you think I'm going to make coolant soup?” She asks with a smirk.

“Shut up.” He replies, blushing a bit.

“Mmm, I sure do love me some coolant soup.” She continues to tease.

“Oh my god, ARA, please stop.” Vikna pleads, covering her face as she blushes as well.

“Alright, I'll stop.” She says with a giggle. “Coolant is a smooth, extremely low viscosity fluid with a clear or blue color. Not a high viscosity fluid with a white color, perv.”

The Marine just rolls his eyes, deciding not to feed the attention hungry AI any further.

14 hours later

Jack hears a couple of taps on the door to the room he was sleeping in, his eyes opening as the door to the room opens. The smell of lavender wafts into the room as he turns himself over, seeing Velheim holding a tray of food, his hair washed and his uniform patched and pressed. He gives the Marine a nod as he sets the food on a table, Jack now noticing Vikna is nowhere to be found.

“Where'd Vikna go?” Jack asks.

“Downstairs. Zofie made a German breakfast for us all, but you were too tired. Your uniform has been pressed for you. Don't worry, I know how to clean off dress uniforms.” He says with a smile.

Jack nods, getting out of bed as he makes his way to the hanging uniform.

“Holy shit...” He says. “When did you get so ripped?”

“About four or so years ago for you guys, eight or so for me.” Jack replies. “I needed augmentations to use something and not die in the process.”

“Ah, that explains the narben.” He says. “Er, scars. Sorry, common is still a bit tricky for me.”

“English is a hard language to master.” The Marine tells him. “Even butchered American English is hard for non-natives to speak.”

“What happened all those years ago? If you don't mind me asking, that is.” Velheim says. “There were men who were speaking like Ottomans in the streets, shooting men with guns of...Bolshevik origin.”

“There was a war. A big war.” Jack replies, pulling up the pants and buttoning them up. “It encompassed all three of the major planets in this sector. Serko, Siania, and Katric.”

“Do you want to continue?” He asks. “I hear your name all over the place, people calling you some kind of hero.”

“I just did my part.” Jack replies. “I was a combatant, that's all.”

“Guess not.” He says, sitting on the bed. “I was at the battle of Stalingrad, you know that?”

“Oh shit, really?” Jack asks, putting his dress coat on.

“Ja, extremely bloody. Damn Bolsheviks wouldn't just give up.” He says, balling up a fist. “I fought street to street, building to building, room to room. So many of my men died, but I always came out unscathed. I kept thinking to myself that it was so unfair. Why me? Why let me live while some poor Soldat or Obersoldat from a village in the south had to die in my place? I kept pushing on, my hatred for the Russians only being surpassed for the love of my country. I did horrible things to those men. Gutted them and slathered their entrails on pikes, real evil shit that was no doubt used as fuel on the 'Germany is evil' fire.”

“You want a cigar?” Jack asks, reaching into the pocket of his coat and pulling out two large and brown sticks. “It's like a big cigarette.”

“I know what a cigar is, friend. Sure, bumming smokes has been a hassle when nobody does it. They use these weird light smokes instead.” He says, taking one of the sticks as he grabs a lighter. “Shit, out of fluid. Completely forgot I used it to light Molotovs.”

“I got a light.” Jack says, pulling out a Zippo from his pocket and flicking it open.

He flicks the lighter on in a brilliant flash of sparks, lighting the German's cigar before lighting his own.

“I eventually went out on my own. I must've killed fifty, sixty of them before I was captured. I was just happy for it to all be over, but god said nein. A portal opened and it pulled me, along with all my things, straight into it.”

16 years ago.

Velheim falls flat on his face, having managed to free himself from the binds those damn communists put him in, seeing his gear and weapons strewn about a concrete street. He looks back, seeing a flashing sign that didn't look to be connected to anything. Where the hell was he? He had a broken nose and felt it bleeding, which he corrected immediately with a sickening snap of his nose. The opening he fell through is completely gone, puzzling him further as he looks around the completely empty and darkened street. The only light being given off came from 3 lamp posts that were arranged vertically, while others seemed to either be switched off, or simply broken. To him, it looked like some kind of weird, modern city with bits of future thrown in.

He gathers his things, checking and finding the Bolsheviks kept his magazines and weapon loaded, having seemed to toss his gear with other gear as well. There was a rifle and a bandoleer of magazines, which he took as well, not knowing where he was and wanting the ability to touch people out at the edges of the incredibly long street. When all of his gear is on his back and chest, he begins making his way toward one of the lights. Maybe he could find a map or a sign by the light? As he makes his way toward the light, he keeps his MP40 close, not sure if this was some kind of Russian wonder weapon that was designed as a sort of torture device. When he makes it to the light, a sort of glowing cinema screen pops up, showing symbols and routes he didn't understand. He shrugs and makes his way down the street, gun by his side as he treks further down the lit roadway. As he nears an alleyway, he hears a commotion, things being thrown about as a struggle ensued.

“No! Get away from me!” A girl yells out, instantly getting his attention. “STOP IT!”

“Don't you know it's rude to speak in a dead language?” A deeper, manlier voice speaks, seeming to be speaking to the girl. “Come on, let's go to my place and talk this over~.”

“NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU CREEP!” The girl screams, prompting the man to rush around the corner.

It was too dark to see anything, even with the aide of the lamp, so he scrambles to turn on his flashlight. He twists the knob until it's locked down and the sight before him was something out of legend. A werewolf, standing front and center over what looked like a spaniel of some kind. The light seems to stun the wolf, causing it to get off the spaniel as the dog runs toward him, blonde hair flowing behind the decidedly female form. When she makes it to him, he sees she's wearing lederhosen, which would make him smile if he was anywhere else.

“What's this thing?” He asks. “Let me get a look at you.”

“STAY BACK, BEAST!” The soldier screams, raising his gun to the werewolf. “I'LL SHOOT!”

“It speaks the dead language too?” The werewolf says, stopping in his tracks. “What is that? Some sort of pipe fixture you made to look like a weapon?”

The German raises it in the air and pulls the trigger, the weapon chattering loudly as the female whines behind him.

“Okaaay. It's a real gun.” The wolf says. “Time to get a bit more serious.”

He moves his arms around, fire beginning to flick from his fingertips. The German backs up and pushes the woman along with him, keeping her away from the dangerous mythical beast before him.

“Hand her over and I'll spare you. Some virgin ass isn't worth your life.” The werewolf threatens.

“Neither is it worth yours!” The man yells, putting the machine pistol down and raising the larger rifle to the massive wolf. “Run, lady! I'll hold him off!”

He doesn't feel her leave his side, in fact, he feels her grip his uniform, probably too afraid to run. Velheim had to think fast. Should he try to kill the beast that can only be killed with silver bullets? Or should he try to outrun the beast while encumbered with over 30 kilos of gear?

“You better make up your mind or I'll cook you alive.” The wolf says. “You get exactly one chance.”

“Then I'll take it.” The man says. “LOOK AWAY, GIRL!”

He takes aim at the chest of the beast and squeezes the trigger with all the discipline and finesse his instructors instilled in him, the rifle letting loose a round with an almighty thunder crack. The wolf is struck by the round, crying out in pain as he falls to the ground, holding his chest as the German racks the bolt on instinct. He charges forward, pressing the advantage and firing another shot into the screaming wolf. Blood begins leaking from the wound as the German realizes that either the myths were wrong, or this wasn't a werewolf. In any case, he fires again, the round flying true into the beast's head, killing him instantly. The German stops firing, creeping his way forward as he pulls the bolt back and forth. When he reaches the werewolf, the two holes in his chest were leaking blood onto the concrete as the hole in his head had popped his eyes out a bit, much like a cartoon. When the German looks back to the dog, he sees she's looking the other way, tail folded under her legs as she covers her folded ears. The man makes his way back to the woman, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Don't look back, just keep walking.” The man tells her calmly.

“W-what happened?” She asks.

“Don't worry about it. You're safe now.” He tells her. “Do you have a home?”

“I-I do...” She says, opening her eyes as she continues to walk down the street. “We should call the police.”

“And tell them we shot a werewolf? They'll never believe us.” He says, hardly able to believe this dog is standing on 2 legs, let alone talking. “We can talk to them in the morning.”

“W-what's your name?” She asks.

“Velheim, my fair lady.” He replies.

“I'm Zofie.” She replies in kind. “Thank you for saving me. He was a terrible man.”

“You're welcome. Let's get back to your place. I can cook you something to eat before you go off to sleep.” He says. “Either that, or I can go buy you a drink to calm your nerves. The Wehrmacht pays me well enough.”

“Thank you, but I don't think your money works here.” She tells him, disappointing the German slightly. “You're very kind and I appreciate the sentiment. Let's just get back to my apartment before anyone else comes out of the shadows.”

30 minutes later

The strange dog girl opens the door to her room, which was at the end of the hall, the door sliding open unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Everything was so futuristic, it was like something out of science fiction books. When she takes him into her room, the door shuts behind him and he looks around for a kitchen, finding a very small one in the corner of the apartment. All of the markings and tools around it were alien, Velheim not able to make anything of it as the spaniel makes her way into the small kitchenette.

“I can see you're confused.” She says with a knowing smile. “It's okay, I'm the best cook in the district. Well...according to the people in the deli downstairs. I'm taking out a loan on my own bakery tomorrow.”

“That's great...” He says, looking around the room some more as he takes off his helmet.

“Do you mind me asking what you are?” She asks, pulling a pan from the cupboard above her, pressing a button as the metallic cabinet closes.

“I'm a man. A human.” He replies. “What are you?”

“A canine anthro.” She replies. “A German spaniel to be specific. So you're an alien species?”

“I don't know.” He says. “Do you know of any Russians around here? Is this some kind of trick the communists are using?”

“What's a Russian?” She asks quizzically.

“They drink vodka, rape women, kill Germans, rape Germans, are loud and obnoxious, all peasants. The scum of the Earth.” Velheim replies.

“O-oh, well, I know someone who does one of those things, but she's Katrician.” Zofie says with an awkward chuckle. “Stupid food synth, WORK!”

The dog kicks the oven and it makes a beep, seeming to work as the man chuckles.

“I guess some machines never change.” He says with a smile. “Do you mind if I set my things down? I'm tired from...running around all day.”

“Sure, just set them in the hall. Nobody is going to steal your things. My friend made sure to install a security door on my apartment. Nothing is getting through those doors.” She says confidently.

He nods, undoing the straps on all his gear as he sets it down in the hallway. When he looks back, he sees the canine is already putting the finishing touches on something delicious looking.

“How'd you cook that so fast?” The man asks, questioning the safety of eating something she made so fast.

“I'm a very fast baker.” She says with a smile. “I'm joking, I printed the food.”

“Printed? As in, made it from a newspaper press?” He asks, curious as to her wording.

“No, I pushed a few buttons and printed out some sausage.” She says with a smile. “You really aren't from around here, are you?”

“This is all very strange to me.” He says, watching her press some buttons and a sausage begins forming before his very eyes. “That's magic.”

“No, this isn't magic, it's scientific!” She says with a whuff. “I don't know how it works, but I put nasty tasting packets in one side and it makes passable food come out the other end. I don't really have a useful magical power, so I can't really show you real magic. My Katrician friend can. She can make ice and is a real treat to have at a party. She puts ice in all the beer!”

He chuckles at the cuteness set before him, seeing her stick her tongue out a bit as she takes the sausage over to the couch, the German following her with a rumble in his stomach. The realization that he was hungry was sudden, but he couldn't wait to eat whatever this was. He sits next to the canine on the couch as she brings up a floating screen of sorts, tapping on a part of it as a picture of a blue feline pops up. She's smiling gently as Zofie is right next to her, putting bunny ears over her head.

“Here, I heard your stomach rumbling.” She says, setting the plate of sausage and bread on his lap. “It's safe to eat, if you're worried about that.”

He nods, picking up the very real feeling and very warm sausage. When he takes out his knife and cuts it, the inside looks perfectly fine, cooked to perfection almost. He stabs a piece of the sausage and sticks it in his mouth, using his teeth to pick it off the knife. When he tastes it, the sausage tastes fairly average, but to him, it was the best thing he'd eaten since he joined the army in 1940. He continues to eat the sausage at a quick rate as the magical screen in front of him switched images to a color movie of sorts. It was like having a cinema in your own home, unlike the television sets he had seen in Berlin. The language was foreign and sounded vaguely Russian, but it was something to watch. Watching television while eating. What a strange concept.

“So, what were you doing with those guns?” She asks. “I've never seen a gun that looks like a pipe before.”

“Well, I'm a soldier.” He replies, downing the last of the sausage. “A soldier in the Wehrmacht.”

“How'd you get here?” She asks.

“I have no idea.” He replies. “Where am I?”

“The old world district on Serko.” She replies. “Serko is the name of the planet and Liertz is the name of the country.”

“Wait, planet?” He asks. “I'm on another world?”

“I would assume so.” She says with a smile. “Please, eat the bread. I know you're probably starving.”

As she says that, he hears a man in the room behind him, a loud thump coming from the room before Zofie groans.

“I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight.” She says before slamming her fast on the back wall. “ARK, KNOCK IT OFF!”

“You don't understand, Spots, I got the hottest piece of ass today!” A man on the other side yells. “I'm not quieting down for this one!”

“O-oh, he's not usually so forward.” She says, a blush coming over her face.

“What an asshole.” Velheim says. “That's extremely rude to mention in front of a lady.”

“Well, uh, the best thing I can do is turn up the holo-screen, but I know it's not enough. Please don't think I'm weird.” She says, a bit self conscious as her neighbor begins going to town on some woman, both of them groaning and moaning away.

“I had noisy neighbors growing up too. It doesn't bother me.” He tells her, putting a hand on her head. “I don't mind.”

He begins stroking her hair gently as the sounds of slapping and cries of pleasure sound out behind them, Zofie's tail wagging back and forth as she receives pets from the alien man. He was so strange to look at, having no real snout and the only fur he had being around his mouth. Even then, it wasn't much, looking almost like he shaved it off. Why would he want to shave off his fur?

“Did you shave off your fur?” She asks before covering her mouth, knowing he probably doesn't want to talk about it.

“Fur? I don't have fur.” He replies with a chuckle. “The stuff around my face is called a stubble. It's considered improper to let a beard grow out in the army.”

“Oh, it's a beard!” She says with a smile. “My landlord has one of those. You only really see it in really old anthros.”

“Ah, I see.” He says with a smile, continuing to pet her. “Anything else you'd like to know?”

Zofie sits and thinks, hearing the slapping and groaning beyond the wall getting even louder.

“What were you doing before you came to save me?” She asks.

“Soldiering.” Velheim replies.

She's about to press further, but thinks better of it. There's probably a reason behind his vagueness. Zofie's just happy to have someone to spend the nights, er, night with, since Nytro is so laser focused on sex since he hit 22. Her dad didn't even let her near the man until last year, when he thought she could handle herself, which she could definitely do! Definitely...yeah.

“So, you mentioned you worked in a deli.” The man says, having already finished his bread. “Do you think I could help out? I don't know if there's even a way back and literally anything is better than being stuck in Stalingrad.”

“Oh, we're actually really short staffed right now. Of course I could give you a position!” She says with a smile, forgetting about her little debacle. “It's great to see someone in this district taking initiative!”

“Really? How lazy are people on this planet?” He asks.

“Not the planet, just the district. Most people in Liertz work very hard, but this place is more of a tourist attraction than somewhere people want to live.” She says. “It's so ancient, it's almost comical. Since your mind was blown by a food synth, I think you should acclimatize yourself to the surroundings before going anywhere else. I've seen what happens to primitives who live on under developed planets when they see all the technology. It's about a fifty-fifty chance of them passing out.”

“I can't imagine why.” The German jokes, Zofie chuckling as they both sit there for a while, Velheim having to break the ice again. “Weird question, but what were you doing out so late? Isn't there some kind of curfew to keep people safe from these kinds of attacks?”

“Curfew? That sounds like some really tyrannical stuff. I was just out looking for Nytro, since he said he found something really cool.” She replies. “Guess he found someone cool instead of something.”

As if on cue, a loud cry of pleasure from both parties in the other room signals the end of their romp, Zofie blushing as Velheim does the same.

“G-god, I hate it when he does this.” She says, putting her hands between her legs. “He teases me all the time for not wanting to just give someone my first time. In particular, he teases me for not wanting to give HIM my first time. I like him, don't get me wrong, but we're just friends. I'm sure he'd be gentle, but I want someone who I feel something more toward.”

“I've dealt with people like him in the past. Womanizers, mostly communists and disgusting pigs of men.” He replies. “I've had a few partners in the past, but they were all from failed relationships. Women in the Fatherland were not very faithful, let me tell you.”

“How so?” She asks, now a bit intrigued.

“Very mean and entitled. The girls in Norway were much nicer. All the German girls wanted to do was...have sex.” He replies. “I was all for it, as long as they stayed, but they never did. Always chasing bigger men with larger assets than I have. Bigger men than me. I just want someone who's not in it for just the sex, you know?”

“It's like you're the complete opposite of men here.” She says, laying her head on his shoulder as he continues to pet her hair.

“I'm the complete opposite of men on my planet too.” He says, rubbing the side of her head and taking a chance on her ears.

“Right there.” She says, her tail thumping against the couch as the German chuckles.

“You're just like my old dog Allei.” Velheim says with a smile. “She'd always want belly rubs after I pet her for a while.”

“That's cute.” She says, giggling at the imagery. “That kind of stuff is reserved for the bedroom with anthros.”

“I'd imagine so.” Velheim says. “If you'd like, I can sleep out on the couch. It's certainly more comfortable than anything I've been able to sleep on in the past few years.”

“Oh, I couldn't do that to you.” She says. “I have a queen sized mattress in my room and I intend to share it with you.”

As she says that, the slapping and moaning starts up again, confusing Velheim.

“They're still going?” He asks.

“Nytro's a bit...special.” She replies with a blush. “I think he likes teasing me with the sounds he makes.”

“I can have a word with him tomorrow if you'd like.” The German tells her. “I'm very persuasive.”

“No, he's a friend!” She yells, pulling away from his grasp. “I won't let you hit him!”

“No, that's not what I mean.” The German says, having heard this before. “I'm just a good talker. I don't win arguments with fights like some barbarian. I prefer to talk things out and settle things in a civil manner.”

“O-oh.” She says, leaning in a bit as she calms down. “I'm sorry for assuming.”

“It's fine, most people make that assumption when I offer to solve a dispute. It's the way my body looks.” He says, looking down at his above average arms. “I only fight when there's good reason.”

“I trust your reasoning.” She says, putting her head back under his hand. “When they stop for the night, we can go to sleep. I'm tired, but I don't trust myself in a bed with someone when they're making all those lewd noises. It...does things to me.”

“I understand.” He says. “Thank you for allowing me to stay.”

“You're very welcome.” She says, tail wagging a bit harder.

14 hours later

Velheim feels something moving in his arms, waking him from his slumber as he slowly comes to. He feels something moving between his legs, feeling soft and pleasant as it slides around gently. His eyes open, the soft warmth in his hand bringing a smile to his face as he realizes one of the girls actually decided to stay. When he looks down, he sees the face of a dog looking back up at him, tongue slightly out as she looks back up at him with those dazzling blue eyes of hers. He remembers what happened last night. Killing a werewolf, saving this girl, and eating some of the best tasting food he'd ever had since he left home. He plants a kiss on her lips absentmindedly before immediately realizing his mistake, the dog now blushing as she looks off to the side.

“Oh god, I'm sorry!” He apologizes. “I...I thought you were one of the girls I...”

“It's okay.” She says with a smile, licking his face with her ridiculously wet tongue a few times. “I got you back. We're even now.”

He looks down and sees she's nearly naked, which makes him blush as she giggles a bit. Why was she naked?!

“You kept grabbing at my hair and ears last night, so I had to strip and give you some other fur to grab. I couldn't sleep with all the pets you were giving me!” She says with a smile, this doing nothing to comfort Velheim as she chuckles. “Don't worry, you settled on my back before you could go any lower.”

“You're awfully comfortable with having a strange man in your bed kissing and embracing you.” He says, pulling his arms back. “Do you want me to turn away while you get up? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“I think we can stay in bed for a little longer.” She says, putting her arms around him as what he realizes is her tail begins moving again.

“SPOTS!” A very loud and angry voice shouts from the hallway. “GET OUT HERE OR I'M BREAKING THE DOOR DOWN!”

Zofie tenses up and looks back up at him.

“Or not...” She says, pulling the covers off them both before Velheim grabs her shoulder.

“I'll talk to him.” He says, pulling her over to the other side of the bed as he gets up.

When he puts on his undershirt and pants, he makes his way to the door, kicking his things behind him before looking at the door for a moment, figuring it out after tapping a few buttons. The door opens and a very angry looking dog...cat...thing is staring back at him.

“What do you want?” The German man asks. “We were sleeping.”

“Did you murder a wolf last night?!” The man asks angrily.

“He was a werewolf.” The German replies. “I think he was, at least. He was trying to have his way with Zofie.”

“You can't just go out and shoot someone on somebody's behalf!” The angry amalgamation of species shouts back at him. “There's due process and laws surrounding this kind of thing!”

“So threatening to kill me and trying to rape her wasn't enough of a reason to kill the man?” Velheim asks, not sure if he's being fucked with.

“Spots, get out here right now!” The thing yells past him.

“I'M GETTING DRESSED!” Zofie screams back, just as angry as him. “LEAVE VELHEIM ALONE!”

“So that's your name, huh?” The man asks. “I'm sure she already told you my name.”

“Nytro?” The man asks. “Or do you prefer Ark?”

“Nytro, don't say my real name.” He replies. “So, you shot this wolf who was going to rape her, just so you could fuck her?”

“I beg your pardon?” The man asks. “I did no such thing.”

“Whatever you say.” Nytro replies, his demeanor seeming much more relaxed as Zofie seemed to disarm his entire personality.

“What's so fucking important that you have to scream at me at seven in the morning?!” Zofie asks, Nytro's anger seeming to have transferred over to her as she's dressed haphazardly in something inspired by lederhosen instead of straight lederhosen.

“There was a wolf down town that was murdered. Your DNA was near the crime scene and I thought you did it.” Nytro replies, looking down at a device before a beam scans over his rifle. “Yeah, that's a match. I'm going to need that rifle for forensics.”

“I'm not giving you my rifle.” He replies. “If I get caught without it, I'll be skinned alive.”

“Who'd want your pelt?” Nytro asks snarkily. “Just give me the damn rifle and start speaking a relevant language. I hate speaking this one.”

“German is the only language I speak that you would understand. Would you rather me speak Norwegian or Polish? Kan du høre meg? A teraz?” The German man says to the fuzzy pest in front of him.

“Did he just call me a whore?” The hybrid asks, looking offended.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” The German replies. “You're not taking my rifle. I admit that I killed that wolf, but I'm not going to be disarmed because of that. My family fell for it once and I won't fall for it again.”

“I'll give it back after I run it through forensics.” He says. “Stop being difficult.”

“How can I trust the man who was willing to break down the door without a warrant?” The German asks.

“Just give him the gun.” Zofie says, a bit annoyed by now.

Velheim smirks, picking up the rifle from the ground and handing it to the weird dog thing. He looks it over, running a tool over it before handing it back.

“Yep, that confirms it.” He says. “Now I can go on with my day.”

The hybrid walks back down the hallway as a very VERY small anthro makes his way up the hallway. Velheim looks back at Zofie and she's busy fixing her dress, putting her hair into a braid with her other hand. It was a work of acrobatics that astounded Velheim, making him smile as he watched the very pretty girl putting herself together for the day. When she notices him watching, she blushes a bit, finally putting a hair tie in her braid.

“You're staring...” She says, looking down at the floor.

“I can't help it. You're so pretty.” He says with a smirk.

“Zofie?” An old voice asks behind the German before he begins speaking in a language Velheim couldn't understand.

She makes her way past the man, seeing a very old and very small anthro with a cane of light standing in the doorway. The two have a conversation before her ears raise in excitement, her tail wagging back and forth as she looks back at Velheim. The little gerbil looking anthro makes his way back down the hall as her tail is now wagging at mach speed.

“We're going on a trip!” She says excitedly. “I can't wait to show you to my friends!”

“So I'm your pet now?” Velheim asks with a smile.

“If you want, I can go get my, er, the leash.” She says, having fumbled that one a bit.

“That was a fumble.” The soldier tells her with a chuckle. “I'll make myself presentable. Give me five minutes.”

Present day

Jack nods at that, having eaten the breakfast she had cooked for him while he was telling his story.

“If you want more, ask Zofie. Unlike most people around here, I like to keep my sex life private.” Velheim tells him, taking a drag of the cigar. “I think ARA made the bacon, but I can't be sure. You're not feeling sick, are you?”

“No, it was pretty good.” He replies. “Thanks for bringing it. I'll be down in a second.”

He nods, leaving the Marine to his own devices as he gets himself off the bed, pulling out a long metal tube and stuffing the cigar inside. When he closes it, the rubber seal puts the cigar out, saving it for later as he makes his way to the door. When it opens for him, he rubs his eyes one more time to make sure he's not dreaming, as he's had a couple dreams like this before. Pleasant dreams, except he'd be naked and Zofie would be laughing at him. When he steps out into the hallway, Nytro is leaning back against the wall, watching as the Marine makes his way down the stairs. When he enters the bakery he sees Vikna sitting at a table, talking to Zofie as Franklin eats a small plate of eggs. When Vikna sees him coming down the stairs, she smiles, scooting out of the booth as she makes her way over to him.

“How'd you sleep last night?” She asks, pulling him into a hug as her tail wraps around his leg. “I was neck deep in forms and paperwork.”

“I didn't have any nightmares, if that's what you're asking. It was more of a memory than anything.” He replies, lying out his ass. “Did anything happen while I was out last night?”

“No, everything was fine.” She replies, pecking him on the cheek. “The mayor of Kan Rein wants to prepare something, but Kesis said she's had something prepared for a while. Said you ran off before everyone could give you a proper farewell.”

“I had to make sure you were safe.” He says, rubbing the top of her head. “So, what's the game plan, Kirov?”

“Stop it, you.” She says with a giggle. “We'll go off to Siania first, then go into one of the outer colonies who sent in support for the war. I think they called themselves the Sukisan Conglomerate or something of that nature. They made the export tanks that we had on Siania and provided troops as well. Radoslav seems to like them a lot, but I think it's because the queen and princess are both smoking hot. Total sluts too, so I'm not leaving your side the entire time I'm there.”

“Seems reasonable.” He says with a nod.

“Next, we'll loop back around to Serko, where the mayor should've made a sort of stage for you to present a speech on. Just talk about how great it is to be there and you should be fine.” She continues, pulling back and beginning to count of planets on her fingers. “Then there's the planet the reporter was from. They renamed it to, uh, Halijaro or something. He's really excited to see you and was telling the president of his country that you were coming.”

“Can't wait to see him again. Wonder how he got along?” Jack asks idly.

“Then we'll loop back around to Centaurus, a planet between Serko and Levi nine. Lots of horse anthros and the prince kind of fell in love with you, so I'll stay around you there as well.” Vikna tells him, counting out a few more planets. “Then there's Kovai, a planet heavily populated with Kleyka. Radoslav said he wanted us to visit there as part of the tour, so I can't really say no.”

“Is he going to try anything?” The Marine asks.

“Not in a million years. He has his hands tied up with Bhainen at the moment.” She replies. “Next, there's a planet known for manufacturing high end anthroids that wants to meet you too. Yovala, I believe it was. I think ARA's general frame design came from that planet. Made under license by Kaltag, of course.”

“Last planet's Katric, right?” Jack asks, taking a stab at it.

“Yep. Big parade and speech planned by the mayor of my home city. Rei even helped plan it out before you and I decided to dip and go to Earth.” She replies, nodding as she confirms the numbers. “Yeah, that's all of them. Anything you want to do before we go back into orbit? Zofie said she'd give us a few hours to ourselves if we wanted.”

He looks down at her, smiling as she gives him a sultry smirk, biting her lower lips as she makes her way over to him.

“I just got dressed. Maybe tonight.” He replies. “You're insatiably horny, you know that?”

“Only for you~.” She replies with a slutty tone, licking under his chin as she subtly grinds her crotch on his leg. “Guess I can wait a few hours.”

He nods and the raunchy feline pulls herself away, giving him a wink before making her way upstairs. As she ascends the stairs, she's met by a look of disapproval from Nytro before he blocks the way. She tries to get around him, moving left before moving right, but she sees he's intent on blocking her path.

“You need to be careful out there, Blue. Bhainen is lurking and Katric doesn't need anymore dead heroes.” He says, looking down at her with worry. “I know you can handle yourself, but Bhainen has been around the block a few times more and has dealt with some of the nastiest fighting imaginable. The fact that he's rogue and your route lines up with some of his most common routes to hit isn't a very safe combination.”

“I'll divert my course and take the long way around.” She tells him.

“Something tells me you won't.” Nytro says accusingly. “I'm coming along to, at the very least, help protect the kid that you insist on taking.”

“Where do you think I should put him?” She asks, crossing her arms as she looks up at him with an unamused frown. “Keep him with the bird that created heaven and Katric? I don't think so. Frankie's too energetic.”

“Dammit, Vikna, just listen to me!” He yells, clenching his fists as the feline backs up a bit. “He's too much for you to handle. Bhainen will tear you apart and you'll be lucky to get out of an ambush he's leading alive.”

“Vikna, you okay?” Jack asks, Nytro seeing him looking up the steps.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just talking with Nytro.” She replies, looking back up at the hybrid with a scowl before Jack breaks off. “I'll divert my course. Don't tell him about any of this or he'll get spooked and take me back. Just remember that I'm not the one who wanted to come back.”

She makes her way down the hall as Nytro lets her through, making it to the small bedroom Zofie had above the bakery.

2 hours later

The ship lurches backward as the jump finally finishes, the engines spooling up as Vale brings the craft around for orbit. Vikna gets up from her chair as Jack does his rounds, looking over the crew and talking to those who have questions for him. He never tried telling others what to do or that they were doing it wrong, even though she was pretty sure he knew they were doing wrong. He just opened up a conversation and gave a helpful suggestion before closing off the conversation. The therapy lessons were really starting to pay off. When she makes her way over to him, he gives her a salute, prompting her to salute back as he puts his hand down.

“So, how's everyone doing?” She asks.

“Doing great.” He replies. “Warning got her new architecture installed and is happy as a clam now. She can scream at people at thirty two petabytes a second now.”

“This unit heard that!” Warning yells from her seat, a few of the crew chuckling.

“We'll be landing in about an hour. There are four interviews set up with separate news outlets and one set up with Ayn.” Vikna says. “She says the one with her is going to be a lot more casual than the ones with the press, so you can lose the stuffy blues.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” He says. “Uh, ma'am.”

“Go on and get a shuttle prepped First Sergeant.” She says with a smirk. “Second officer will take over the ship while we're planet side.”

“Copy that, ma'am.” He says. “I'll get Frankie aboard.”

2 hours later

Jack is sitting in a room, straightening up his collar as he sits on a couch, cameras buzzing and floating around as a very large camera is mounted by an anthro with a headset on. The dressed up Marine flanked by a jackal reporter and Ayn herself, who's politely dressed and surprisingly tame compared to what he last saw of her. The reporter begins shuffling hard light paper absent mindedly before setting it in a tray, clearing her throat before giving the camera guy a thumbs up. He repeats the gesture and gives a countdown, the jackal giving a smile as Jack puts on a more reserved face. The countdown hits zero and the camera pans diagonally as the reporter begins talking.

“I'm Sierra Laifuhga, back with another insider interview with the famous, or infamous, First Sergeant Haigs.” She says in a surprisingly understandable and Americanized accent. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”

“Uh, sure.” Jack replies, twiddling his thumbs a bit as he looks over at the reporter. “My name's Jackson, but you can call me Jack if you'd like. I live on a ranch in the middle of Montana and raise livestock and horses for eating and riding respectively. Not anthros, mind you, just feral horses and cattle.”

She gives a bit of a chuckle and continues.

“Do you mind if I go straight to the question everyone's been asking?” She asks. “Why did you leave so soon after the war was over? Many people were expecting you to be part of the peace keeping force, or at the very least give speeches of some kind.”

“I'm going to be straight with you, ma'am. I had other priorities. I had to seal the deal with my friend and now wife. That included going off the radar for a while during a honeymoon, finding a place to build a house, and raise our kid.” He replies. “Sorry I wasn't around to help during reconstruction, I just had other things that needed doing.”

“What about the people saying you left us to fend for ourselves?” She asks. “People have said you left us completely defenseless when your military pulled out almost a month after the war ended. We had terrorist attacks for a year after the NATO and Russian governments pulled out.”

Ayn grabs his arm and the reporter frowns a bit, causing him to turn his head toward the princess. She shakes her head and he nods, turning back and clearing his throat.

“So, you're all worried that Uncle Sam left you all to fend for yourselves?” Jack asks, now speaking directly to the camera. “Have faith in yourselves. You'll surprise yourself with what you can accomplish without someone holding your hand. You guys have bicycles here, right?”

“Yes, they're fairly primitive though, so only a few people use them.” The reporter replies.

“It's like taking the training wheels off a bike. You never really notice how limiting the plastic wheels are until you take them off. After that, you can go on trails faster than you could with the wheels still attached. Of course, you may fall a few times at first, but that's all part of the process.” He says, turning his attention to the reporter now. “This is exactly what we did. We took off your training wheels. How does it feel to be able to ride your bike around without training wheels?”

“O-oh, I see.” She replies, losing her composure for a bit before smiling nonetheless. “I guess it feels good.”

“How have you all been doing? It's been over seven years for me.” Jack says, the reporter beginning to blush a bit.

“The planet as a whole has been doing very well.” She replies. “Thank you for asking.”

“How about the humans? Specifically the soldiers and Marines? How have they been treated and, more importantly, how have they been treating everyone?” The Marine asks, giving a bit of an accusing glare to the camera before shifting his gaze back to the reporter. “Want to make sure everyone's on their best behavior.”

“The humans in general have been good to us. A few were arrested, mainly being your Marines, but the rest have been doing well, as far as I can tell.” She replies with a smile. “The fact you still care about us and them is remarkable.”

“It's more that I can't trust some of the humans here further than I can throw them, which is admittedly pretty far.” He replies with a chuckle. “Glad to hear everyone's doing well.”

“How about you? Are you doing well?” She asks.

“I'm here and there.” He replies dismissively. “Just taking care of the ranch as best I can. Have a family to feed and horses to raise. Hoping to take my son out on a horse this winter.”

“That's great. What about your military life? How has that been?” She asks.

“They gave me some kind of weird leave to go train due to my augmentations. Took advanced warfare classes and went through MARSOC and SAS training. Pretty hard, but I managed to pull through.” He replies. “I train on my ranch now, practicing target shooting and acrobatics when I'm not working on the ranch and chasing down cattle. I set aside as much time as I can for my son. We play games outside and inside, doing things I never was able to do with my dad. Makes me grateful for every day I get to spend on this Earth, er, planet.”

A timer begins beeping and the jackal looks down, smiling before looking at the main camera.

“Well, looks like our time is up. Thank you for tuning into ten minute topics! This was certainly an eventful and informative episode!” She says excitedly. “I'd like to thank the First Sergeant for coming here first, as he'll be appearing in many other shows over the next couple days. Now, for the weather report!”

The camera guy gives a thumbs up and all the camera drones buzz away, flying back to the massive camera and docking themselves on the large, crane-like mount. The anthro on top steps off and makes his way toward the table behind the stage, the jackal looking back over Jack with a smirk.

“Anything else I can do for you?” She asks, giving him a less than subtle wink before biting her lower lips. “I've been waiting for the chance to meet you in person.”

“If you need anybody to talk to, just hit me up. I'll be in the galaxy for a month before I go back home.” He replies, seeming to not notice her advances. “Mind if I skedaddle?”

“O-oh, uh, sure.” She replies, looking a bit dejected. “I appreciate you coming on my show. Especially you, princess. We're grateful to have a princess like you.”

“I'm glad you feel that way, because I need to speak with you before I go.” The other jackal says with a less than amused look. “I'll catch up, sweetie. Just let me talk real quick.”

“Alright, I'll wait outside.” He tells her obliviously.

The man gets up, making his way out of the room as he leans up against the side of the doorway. When the door opens again, a slightly flustered looking Ayn comes out of the room, smelling faintly of fish as she waves him along with her.

“So, what happened?” He asks.

“I punished her.” Ayn replies.

“For what and why?!” Jack asks, a bit disturbed that she'd just punish someone for no reason.

“Oh, you must've missed the part where she was making goo-goo eyes at you for half the interview. In words you can understand, she's a sub that likes to act like a dom.” Ayn replies. “Gave her a nice hard pounding while the camera guy sat and watched. Weird dude, just acted like it was another day. Absolutely zero libido change from him.”

“Gross.” He tells her. “Wait, how'd you...oh...OH GROSS!”

Ayn giggles a bit as he backs FAR away from the jackal, leading to her waiting up for him as her giggle turns to a laugh. After all the shit he'd seen, he was definitely not prepared for something as fetishistic as this.

“I told you, I don't exactly abide by rules. Heterosexuality is a rule and rules are made to be broken.” She says with a smirk, having finally gotten her laughter under control. “As for why, you're married and she tried to sway you into sex with her. From what she told me, she gets a kick from dominating the conversation with hard questions until the end of the show. Then, she lets the interviewee hate fuck her into the ground like the sissy bitch she is. It's about a forty percent chance they'll take the bait.”

“I'm pretty sure a place as...progressive as this has facilities for her to act out these fantasies at without the risk of...this.” He says, daring to step a bit closer to Ayn as she rolls her eyes.

“There's no fun in that.” Ayn says with a smile. “I can respect doing it with single men, but I can't allow her to wreck houses with her fetish, so I told her to keep it to singles only. Told her I'd take away her sex drive if she didn't.”

“You can do that?” Jack asks.

“No, it's just a joke.” She replies with a chuckle. “I told her as much, but I think it scared her straighter than if I had just fucked her ass.”

“I would've been scared straight too.” He tells her, making his way back to her.

“Back onto a less...sexual topic, I'm impressed with how you handled that. Kind of flipped the interview around on her, however short it was.” Ayn says, backing herself up before she walks beside him. “She said she'd never had an interview turned around on her like that while the cameras were rolling. Kind of embarrassed her.”

“Sorry about that. She asked me a tough question and I responded like I was talking to my son.” The Marine tells her. “It's kind of reactionary at this point. Didn't mean to talk down to her, but I wanted to make sure everyone understood that we have reasons for leaving. We made the mistake of staying too long in Iraq and Afghanistan, so we made sure everything was stable and the government was capable before leaving them to do their thing.”

“So you stabilize governments and leave?” She asks curiously.

“Sort of. We provided infrastructure and reparations for Iran, which was new for us at the time. Installed a democratic government and made sure no more Islamic revolts could change the country back for a second time.” He replies. “We still have embassies there, but we don't directly involve ourselves in the affairs of countries anymore. We haven't had a war in almost seven years because of it. Well, one that we were officially involved in.”

“You STILL have proxy wars?” Ayn asks, a bit dumbfounded.

“Growing pains of a new country.” Jack replies. “Our country is only about three hundred fifty years old.”

“That's about the time when Siania and Katric cut off their proxy wars with other planets. Shouldn't be long before your country does the same, or doesn't.” She says. “How is that president of yours doing?”

“We got a new one a few years ago. Turns out sending men off to fight a war in a different galaxy for the ability to expand across the stars is seen as a reason not to re-elect the man. This is what happens when people can't meet their leaders in person.” He replies, answering yet another question as they turn down the hall. “I don't invest myself in politics unless it's time to vote. Vikna doesn't really care who wins, just like I don't really care who wins an election on Katric, if they even have elections.”

“Yeah, as a politician, I can say politics is one of the most useless and time consuming way to solve any problem. The only reason we're not living in a better society is because of the committees and hoops we have to jump through to get there.” She says, agreeing with him as they pass by what Jack could only assume is a rave inside the media building. “So, what happened back home? Franklin told me you were in jail for a few weeks when he was really young.”

“I cussed out a cashier and they came over the counter to fight me. The guy got exactly one swing in before I hit him back and fractured his skull. Vikna had to put herself between him and I so I wouldn't...finish the job.” He replies, a bit hesitant to tell her. “I've since been getting therapy and taking medication.”

“Well, that's good.” Ayn tells him, the door in front of the two opening to a lobby.

When the door opens, Jack sees Vikna sitting on the seat nearest to the door, Franklin taking a nap on her lap as the Marine exits the hallway. He could sure use a nap too. When he makes his way over to Vikna, she smiles gently, stroking the blonde hair of her baby boy as he purrs in his sleep.

“How was it?” Vikna asks.

“Hostess tried to seduce me and I flipped the interview around on her.” He replies. “Ayn punished her for it.”

“She won't be trying to endanger anymore marriages.” Ayn adds.

“Good, now I won't have to go do anything I might regret later.” Vikna says, looking back at Franklin. “Frankie, it's time to go.”

He whines a bit and Vikna looks up at Jack, who nods.

“Come on buddy, up you go.” He says, putting his arms under the feline and lifting him off her. “Next time you do this, I'm pulling you to your feet.”

“Daddy.” Is all Franklin says as he wraps his arms around his father's neck.

“Stop it, you're making me jealous.” The jackal princess tells him as he chuckles, holding his son like he used to.

“Let's get out of here. Smells like a dentists office in here. I have some reading to catch up on anyway.” The man says, making his way to the sliding door.

“Have you been writing anything?” Ayn asks, walking out the door with Vikna and him.

“No, I'm currently banned from writing until Franklin is twelve. I could've sworn I told you.” He replies. “Must've slipped my mind.”

“What've you been reading?” She asks.

“Books on naval warfare and maneuvering in a 3d space. Air combat books translate surprisingly well to space warfare, if Vikna is anyone to go by.” He says, earning a jab in his side. “Ow, sorry.”

“Surprising amounts of emphasis is placed on retaining energy, which can actually help conserve emergency propellant on spacecraft for future engagements. Also helps with cooling engines, so I could technically run the battle cruiser on full after burn for-”

“Boring.” Ayn says with a yawn. “Too much technical talk.”

“You're insufferable.” Vikna tells her with a sigh.

1 day later

Jack sits down on a very comfortable couch, Ayn setting up a camera as he waits patiently, Vikna sitting on his right as she lays on his shoulder. She finishes setting up the camera, making her way to the chair that's sat on the other side of the couch.

“Ready?” She asks, opening up a terminal as she puts up a 'Standby!' screen. “Podcast begins in about, thirty seconds.”

“I'm ready.” The two echo, chuckling as Ayn does the same.

“Alright, starting in three, two, one. Hello citizens of Siania! It is I, the princess of your fair and noble planet. Welcome to the casting couch podcast.” She says in an over the top voice before switching to a more casual and laid back tone. “Today is a safe for work podcast. No naughtiness is happening today. For those tuning in, no, I don't do the NSFW part of the show. Sorry to disappoint, but a friend of mine does that portion of the podcast. Today, I'll be interviewing the one and only Gunny. Well, I guess he's a First Sergeant now, but the statues say Gunny. We'll also be interviewing his wife and a personal friend of mine, Vikna! Would you two like to introduce yourselves?”

“Wait, this is a casting couch?” Jack asks, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“No, that's the other couch.” She replies, pointing to the much more opulent looking white couch in the back of the room. “The one you're sitting on is for my side of the show. No NSFW stuff here.”

“Thank god. I don't want to be sitting in some other dude's splooge.” The Marine replies, adjusting his khaki tie as Ayn chuckles.

“Of all people, you should know that I'd never do a cam show.” Ayn says, giving him a wink before continuing on. “Since all these other reporters have been asking you about the war and why you didn't stay, I think I'm going to ask about something different. All the people who are frequent listeners and viewers of my podcast know that I always ask couples how they came to be. I personally know how it happened, but everybody in the audience doesn't. How'd you two come to be lovers?”

“That's actually a great question.” The man replies, eager to give a response. “Would you like it in a grandiose story format or something more manageable? I tend to talk for hours if I don't put a cap on it.”

“I've had podcasts that have lasted eight hours before. Believe me, you couldn't stretch out the story of you two meeting any longer than that.” She says before thinking a bit. “Well, actually, I'm sure you could. Try and keep it simple.”

“Well, I'll skim over the first times we met and get straight to it. Our bond was formed through an unusual and specific set of circumstances. Forged in and under fire, I don't think all of the hardship in the world could tear us apart. We've been through so much together that it would've broken just about anyone else I know.” He begins. “Firefights, assassins, ship to ship combat, and monsters. You name it, we've probably been through it.”

“Now, now, keep those lewd comments to a minimum.” The jackal says, looking at the camera before looking back at the screen. “Sorry, forgot to mention we're live.”

“It's fine for me. Vikna, you okay with being on a live broadcast?” He asks.

When he turns around, she nods.

“If they wanted to kick me out of the Navy for doing media broadcasts, I would've been out of the military before I reached Photor.” She replies. “I'm fine with a live broadcast if you are.”

“Yeah, if anyone has questions, I'm more than happy to answer them.” He tells Ayn. “Unless they're related to bedroom stuff. I'm happy to talk about anything that doesn't invade our privacy like that.”

“Alright, I'll turn on slow mode real quick so questions don't get buried in spam.” Ayn says, tapping a key on the holographic keyboard and watching the stream. “First question is...actually really good. They asked how you've managed to fight off all these reporters trying to pry into deeply personal and triggering events.”

“Well, you see, my son actually used to ask me difficult questions like this all the time. He'd ask me how many people I shot, which I told him never to ask anyone ever again, and I explained that some people don't like talking about it. When people ask me difficult questions, I give them easy to understand answers that I'd give to my son on reflex. Luckily, two of the three reporters didn't actually ask me the big question, but the last one did and I told them the last time I answered it, I passed out for two weeks.” Jack tells her with a chuckle. “You can thank your princess for saving all of us in that situation.”

“I...I really didn't do much.” Ayn says, blushing a bit.

“Nonsense. You landed a plane on your first try!” Jack interjects. “That's the hardest part of flying!”

“Well, I guess I did technically stop the plane.” She says, acting in a manner the Marine wasn't used to seeing from her. “I...uh...oh! Another question. And, it's gone.”

“Sex related?” He asks.

“Half of these are sex related, sweetie.” Ayn replies. “Are you forgetting why we were-”

“I'm gonna stop you right there.” Jack interrupts forcefully. “Not another word.”

“Oh...okay.” She says, a bit dumbfounded. “Here's a good one. How'd you first meet her?”

“Well, I met Vikna, Zofie, ARA, and you in my house. Latest theory is that there was a strong point in my yard to anchor a portal to, so the system chose it. Dunno how or why it happened, but I literally wouldn't be here today if it hadn't.” He replies with a smile. “Anything you wanted to ask me before all the time is taken up answering questions from randos?”

“Oh, uh, yeah!” She replies, scrambling to open up a document on the holo-screen before finding what she was looking for. “Do you have any stories you'd like to tell? Doesn't have to be related to violence, but I'm absolutely sure you saw some interesting things while I wasn't around.”

“Oh my god, finally!” Jack says with a laugh. “I've been waiting to tell this story for ages! So, you remember camp Garland, right?”

“Very fondly~.” She replies.

“So, there was a guy in the heavy machine gun company who was sitting out on guard duty one day, going out to take a piss, and this dude comes back with a nasty fuckin' bite on his leg. I'm talking about if you went off and bit some guy as hard as you could in the leg. It was torn to fucking shreds.” Jack says, laughing a few times as Ayn joins in. “Yeah, so I say 'Holy fucking shit, private, the hell happened to your leg?!', and the poor kid replies with, 'I got bit by a snake, Gunny! It was as big as a fucking van!'. So I treat the poor kid for a snake bite, since SOMEBODY had our corpsman tied up with other matters.”

“Oops, sorry about that.” She says with a chuckle. “He needed me to help, uh, move patients.”

“Right. So this guy goes through the rest of the day without issue, but the next day, this guy is off nearly every five minutes taking a piss break. The dude would run off and say 'Gotta piss!' and bolt off behind the nearest tree for a few minutes before coming back.” He continues. “So, after a few hours of this, I follow the guy back to one of his piss breaks. Keep in mind, I don't usually perv on my guys, since I don't roll that way and was technically married, but I was genuinely concerned for the dude. Thought he might've actually caught something nasty. When I go back into the woods, I see this dude stroking one out behind a tree. You should've seen him! The entire tree was fucking COATED in this dude's spunk. Like, holy shit I've never seen a tree as white as this tree. So I ask him, 'PRIVATE, WHAT THE FUCK?!' and this kid fucking turns around with a dick so big it puts my arm to shame!”

Ayn is laughing real hard by now, struggling to keep herself from falling out of the chair as the man continues.

“So, I back the fuck up and this poor kid is doing everything to hide something the size of a horse cock with his relatively small human hands, nearly tearing up. Poor bastard told me that he thinks it was the snake that bit him. I ask the guy what kind of snake bit him, and he tells me it was some snake with huge fucking titties on her. Like, the size of bowling balls.” The Marine continues, nearly laughing his own ass off as he tells the story. “Then, like it was all fucking planned, this massive snake girl slithers up and starts speaking Arabic. Wraps herself around the poor private and I'm about to shoot the thing when the Private tells me it's all good. Then, the snake girl asks if I wanted to join in and I told her 'I don't get paid enough to fuck the local fauna.' and just fucked right off.”

“Oh my god, he got abducted by a Viperra!” Ayn yells out, falling out of her chair with a thud as she continues to laugh at the story.

“It's not over yet. So, this kid comes back to camp, barely able to stand and the corpsman looks just in time to see this kid collapse at the entrance. Comes over and says he smelled like rotten fish and roses. Nearly threw up when he carried the kid back to the communal showers. Now, keep in mind, this kid was gone for almost three days. When he came to, he told us that the snake lady fucked him for three days straight.” He continues. “Kid thought he died and went to heaven. She dumped him off at the edge of the forest and he just walked right up and collapsed. We called him Snake Bite for the rest of the deployment. God, that kid was something else.”

Ayn is finally tapering off as she gets off the floor, wiping tears from her eye as he looks back, seeing Vikna had been laughing her ass off too.

“Oh my god, that's great. Viperra abductions are super rare, since they only ever go for exotic species, like Kleyka or Avidae. The fact that he managed to get away the first time is a feat in and of itself.” She says, sitting back in the chair.

“I've got a few more if you've got the time.” The Marine says, having way more than a few sitting in the back of his head. “Got the Private who literally went on post, some dude who got humans banned from the officer deck of the carrier we all rode in on, a dude who got, uh, attacked by wild monkey anthros, and the dude who we had to save from a horde of wild dogs.”

“I'm curious about all of them. Well, maybe not the last one. I was there for that one and it wasn't pretty.” She tells him. “After you tell us the first one, we can cut to a break. I completely forgot to get water and it's going to be a long stream without it.”

“Alright, one more before the break.” He says. “I know you weren't around for this one because you would've straight up DIED. A little backstory is in order. This guy was a lanky guy from Tennessee. Never went to college and barely finished high school with Cs and Ds. Guy's dumb as a box of rocks, but he can shoot straighter than anybody I've ever met. He was only 19 when he came over. Big time furry and wanted to help people real bad.”

“Uh, for those who don't know, do you mind explaining what a furry means on Earth? It's a derogatory term here.” Ayn says.

“Oh, it used to be a term that described people who were, uh, sexually attracted to anthros.” He replies.

“What's wrong about that?” She asks.

“This was before they found it you all were real.” He replies. “Like, dudes who'd dress up in fur suits and, uh...do things to the suits. Not speaking for all of them, but that was the, uh, weirder minority.”

“O-oh.” She stutters, cringing a bit. “Yeah, even someone like me has lines that I won't cross. However, I won't get into it further. This is the safe for work podcast.”

“Right, so this dude came in, fresh out of basic, just to help all of you out with the Separationist problem. Really noble kid who wanted nothing more than to set everyone free. So, Vikna might remember this part. He comes into our, uh, fuck, what was the name?” He asks.

“Think it was called a conex or something.” Vikna replies.

“Thank you. He came into our conex and asked me where I wanted him at, since the Major was busy and all the officers were busy doing I don't know what the fuck. Told him to report to his post from the chart and the guy runs back off, closing the door behind him. After a few minutes, I hear cheering outside and look to see this dumb bastard climbing one of of the light poles.” Jack continues, chuckling a bit. “I go out there and the dude is pulling a fucking Mulan, using his PT belt to get a better grip while he climbs twenty feet up the pole. When I get over there, everyone's telling this poor kid to get down and he keeps saying that I told him to get to his post. Now, going to your post is like going to the place that you're supposed to be stationed for the day. This guy thought I told him to climb up the light post.”

“I think I remember that guy. He brought me a flower from the forest and I never saw him again.” Ayn says. “Yeah, he wasn't very bright, but he was sweet.”

3 hours later

“-and that's how we got an Abrams stuck in a shopping mall.” Jack finishes, having just delivered another story. “That's about all I can remember for right now. Not gonna touch the stories from my time in the service back on Earth. Mostly because they're relatively boring, but also because most of them are a bit darker.”

“That's totally understandable.” She says. “Tons of questions have been piling up, so I think we should move on to them. First couple are about how you and Vikna manage to stay glued so tightly together.”

“There are a few secrets, but the one thing that's kept us glued together is the fact that I listen. She tells me the same thing. Just sit down and listen every once and a while and she'll thank you later.” The Marine tells her, turning to Vikna. “Anything to add? You've been quiet since the monkey story.”

“For all the girls out there, give your guy some space. He needs time for himself and he can't have it when you're breathing down his neck all the time.” Vikna replies. “I know you might feel like he could be doing things that you wouldn't approve of, but that just makes you a parent and not a lover. Both of you need your alone time and it's something I see a lot of women whine about. Give them some space, just not too much.”

She scoots closer to Jack and he chuckles at that, as does Ayn.

“Good advice that I can agree with. Next question is actually directed at Vikna. They're asking how he's treating you.” Ayn tells Vikna, making her cock her head.

“Why do people always ask me that? I love being around him and he's a great guy. People seriously need to stop worrying about me. I'd kick his ass if he tried anything funny.” She says confidently.

“Next question is, again, directed toward Vikna.” Ayn says, reading through it before reeling her head back in disgust. “And, that's a ban.”

“What was it about?” Jack asks.

“They had been telling me you were cheating on Vikna.” She replies with an eye roll. “I don't deal with gossip, especially false gossip. I put that rule in there when I accidentally broke up a couple on stream, because some guy decided to spread a rumor that his wife was cheating on him. It was false and they're back together, but I'm not going to be an instrument used to break up couples unless there's verifiable proof of abuse.”

“I haven't left the ranch in about five years. It's just Vikna and I on the ranch, so I don't know how I could've cheated on her.” He tells her. “Guy's full of shit.”

“The next question comes from a guy who comes here pretty often. I call him Numbers, since I'm not going to read out his name. Numbers is asking if you know the super soldier that basically leveled the entirety of Liertz's terrorist cell.” She replies. “We call him night terror or the jolly green giant.”

“I'm not commenting.” Jack replies. “Next question.”

“Oh, that's...that's a lot of sexual questions. Are the mods asleep or something?” Ayn asks. “God, now I have to dig through all of this to find questions. While we're doing this, mind telling us what a day is like for you?”

“Well, I get up when Vikna wakes me, usually right before the sun comes up or just as. I get in the shower and clean myself up while Vikna is downstairs making breakfast for Franklin and I. After I eat breakfast, I go off into the fields, making sure the cattle have water and food. I do a head count and scout around the property for pests, getting rid of them if I have to. Then I check on the horses, which I brilliantly decided would be best raised on the other side of the property.” The man explains, chuckling a bit at his stupidity. “Then I'll eat some lunch and fix up any fencing that needs fixing, which it usually does. The fence is older than I am and likely older than my own father too. After that's done, it's usually two in the afternoon and I come back to spend time with my boy. When he's all tuckered out, I'll go back inside and usually Vikna will have something ready for dinner. She's a really good cook.”

“You bet I am.” Vikna replies brazenly.

“After all that is done, I usually go up and draw or play some games. Never too old to play video games, especially since I grew up around them.” He continues. “It's a nice little routine and I like it.”

2 hours later

Ayn closes the podcast down and Jack sighs with relief, the door to the room opening and a smartly dressed jackal entering the room. He has a cart full of food and Ayn pulls out a table, hefting the heavy looking metallic contraption over the center of the room as seats form themselves out of hard light. Ayn rubs her eyes a bit as the jackal sets down some platters and opens them, revealing a relatively normal looking steak dinner.

“I do these podcasts every week now.” Ayn says, sitting on the hard light seat as the Marine and Vikna sit next to each other. “It's a great way to connect to people, but boy is it stressful. Between managing mods and keeping away some of the more lewd comments, it's a huge hassle to maintain it all.”

“Guess my first story really didn't help.” He says, picking up a regular fork and knife before cutting into the meat.

“Yeah, it didn't.” She says before smiling. “I did like it though. Seems that everything wasn't completely violent while you were at Garland.”

“The entirety of being a Marine isn't killing and maiming. We're people, just like you and him.” Jack replies. “So, about that podcast. Who does the, uh, other portion?”

“Well, she's a new friend of mine. I met her online and she's a real character. I think you'd like her. She's absolutely mad for humans and she takes every chance she can get to have one on the show.” Ayn replies with a smile. “Her name is Kaia.”

“Is she nice?” Jack asks.

“Oh, she's so sweet. She'd never hurt a fly as long as she lived.” Ayn replies. “One time she had a human on the show and he had never done it before. He said he was too insecure to find a girl, so he asked her for help with his problem. I think he said he was a Navy Corpsman, but I can't remember. She offered him a hug and they just laid there for a few hours, cuddling while she gave him encouragement and advice. It's still her most viewed stream of all time.”

“That's cute.” Jack says, smiling brightly.

“She just loves to help people in any way she can. Every man who's ever been with her swears that she gives the best sex in the whole galaxy. Admittedly, she's only been with three guys, but every single one says they've never had better sex.” She says. “Kind of makes me a bit jealous, but she's too sweet to have a competition with. Besides, I'd smoke her if I went all out.”

“That's nice.” He says.

“Yeah, she manages all the lewdness in stride. Sometimes she'll get involved on the couch, but most of the time she'll just watch and take notes.” Ayn continues. “Maybe I should ask her if she's up for a round?”

“Ayn, aren't you in a relationship?” Jack asks.

“My position is kind of special, sweetie. It's a lot of cultural bullshit, but he's very understanding.” She says with a nervous smile.

“So he's a cuck?” Jack asks bluntly.

“No!” She yells, looking around the room before her ears fold down. “...yes. I don't have the heart to dump him. He won't make a good king, since he doesn't really know anything about politics and he's a very slow learner. I know this is a long shot, but...do you have any suggestions?”

“I'd say go for it.” Vikna replies. “It's honestly not that hard.”

“Yeah, go for it. Do you know how awesome it is to be the ex of the princess of Siania? He's gonna have girls jumping all over him trying to one up the pinnacle of sexual prowess.” Jack adds. “I'm sure the dude will be fine. He'll get over it.”

“What if he takes it poorly?” She asks.

“He's not a fixer-upper, is he?” The Marine asks.

“I didn't really check.” She replies.

“You can handle a single dude, right?” The Marine asks.

“See, that's the thing...” She says, looking off to the side as she munches on a particularly tough piece of steak. “He's an augmented blue guard...”

“Oh.” Is all Jack can manage to get out.

“Oh indeed.” She echoes. “I don't even think the two of us combined could take him down.”

“Maybe not the two of us.” Jack says. “However, if I call up the jolly green giant, I think he'd get the message.”

“Y-you'd do that for me?” She asks.

“Ayn, we're friends.” He replies with a chuckle. “That armor has been sitting for seven years. Junior probably needs to get out of that barn.”

“I knew I could count on you!” She yells excitedly, a smile a mile wide spread across her face. “How soon can you get it?”

“How does right now sound?” Jack asks, having already finished his steak and getting out his phone. “I'll call the man in the high Tower right now.”

Vikna chuckles at that and he opens the contacts list, pressing the contact for the familiar blue bird before getting a reply.

“Hello?” The blue bird asks.

“Hey, I need a portal back to my garage real quick. Are you able to make one while you're not at the Tower?” Jack asks.

“Uh, sure. You're in the media room, right?” He asks in reply.

“Yeah, just need to get something really quick.” Jack replies, the jackal serving food having already left. “Thanks, I'll be right back.”

30 minutes later

Ayn makes it to Lidal's quarters, knocking on the door gently before standing back.

“Come in.” The jackal tells her in a sing-song voice.

When the door opens, she sees him typing on a terminal before closing it down, turning around with a smile on his face. That is, until he sees she's not smiling back.

“Uh, what's wrong?” Lidal asks.

“We have to talk.” She replies. “It's urgent.”

“Is this about another guy? I already told you I'm cool with it-”

“That's the thing.” She interrupts. “You're cool with it.”

“Oh.” He says, his large ears flattening out a bit. “Well, do you want me to be more cool with it?”

“No, I want you to not be cool with it.” She replies. “I wanted you to be strong and capable, which you are. I also wanted you to be a man of impeccable character, which you are. However, you being cool with me having sex with other guys isn't okay. I don't want to be like my mother when I grow up and I certainly don't want my daughter giving my husband the sex that I won't, all because he's okay with me having sex with other dudes.”

“Wait, wanted?” He asks. “What does that mean?”

“It means...” Ayn struggles to get out. “I-it means I...I don't want to continue this relationship.”

“Oh...” He says. “Okay.”

“Wait, what?” She asks. “You're okay with it?”

“I was pleasantly surprised that this relationship lasted as long as it did.” The jackal replies with understanding. “Are we still able to be friends after this?”

“O-of course.” She replies, relieved that she didn't have to fight him. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“On the contrary, thank you for even considering me as something more than a friend, if only temporarily. You're truly a kind and understanding ruler and you'll make a great queen some day.” He tells her with a smile. “I'll pack my bags and be on my way without a fuss.”

“Do you want me to help?” She asks.

“No, I'm fine. Thank you for your offer.” He replies with a nod. “I'll be gone within the hour.”

“Call me when you get home. Tell my driver to drop you off at your house.” She says. “The time we had together was amazing and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.”

“Thank you, princess.” He tells her.

Ayn makes her way out of the door, Jack being nowhere in sight before he comes walking down the hallway, clothed in regular clothing. Ayn feels a slight twinge of anger enter her mind, as he hadn't stayed outside like she asked. When he makes it to her, they both continue down the hallway.

“Junior was monitoring the whole situation. He wasn't going to pull anything.” Jack says, trying to put her at ease. “I had to put the suit back. It was acting fucky and I don't know if I could control it.”

“At least you had a reason to run off.” She says, a bit less than impressed with his reason.

“Would you have liked me to interrupt you and have him kick both our asses?” Jack asks. “That suit is fucked. I need to fix it when I get home.”

“How? That tech is way beyond anything that even the top scientists on Katric and Serko could produce. If it's as fucked as you say it is, there's no fixing it.” She tells him.

“I'll find a way.” He says, making his way down the hall. “Hey, uh, Vikna said she wanted to go do some stuff in VR. Want to come along?”

“Is it going to be violent?” She asks.

“Considering it's Vikna who wants to go in, probably. She gets really heated when we play games together.” Jack replies. “Well, I say probably. It's definitely going to be violent, since she wants to do war games.”

“That's a hard one.” She says, putting a finger to her chin. “On one hand, it's really cool to watch you, uh, operate, but on the other hand, violence.”

“It's just video game violence, but you do you.” He says. “You did fix the door problem, right?”

“Yes, you can leave mid mission now.” She replies. “I might pop in if I have nothing I need to do. I'm being eased into more and more queen-like responsibilities.”

“What about Franklin? Is he still in the children's room?” He asks.

“I haven't been told otherwise, so I assume he is.” She replies. “Don't worry, the best nannies on the planet are employed here. He's being well taken care of. I'll be on my way. I'm going to see my ex out.”

“Yep, see you later.” He tells her. “Have fun doing, uh, stuff.”

She nods, splitting off down a hallway that loops back around as Jack continues down the path he was going.

30 minutes later

After a small tutorial of how the new operating system of the VR room works, Jack begins building a scene as Vikna sits in a virtual chair.

“Uh, what do you want to do?” He asks. “Dragged me all the way over here in such a hurry.”

“I...I wanted to show you something.” She replies reluctantly. “Something that I forgot to show you a long time ago.”

“Oh, well, why am I building the scene?” He asks.

“I don't know. I never asked you to.” She replies with a bit of snark. “Sit down, please. I want you to watch this.”

He nods, taking a seat as another chair appears, the scene slowly building itself as errors and failures to load cloud the simulation. The tutorial told him about this. Either the memory was only partially complete, or she was holding back. Just as he's about to say something, she grunts, the objects and people begin to load in. He sees a street, just like the others he'd seen on Katric, except it was absolutely FILLED with craters. Tanks were hovering over them as a crudely made roadblock was constructed at one end while an advancing wall of felines, canines, bovines, and other -ines were advancing with near impunity. Machine guns were firing, men were screaming, officers were barking orders, and what looked to be Katrician sailors were carrying them out.

A tank pulled up to the barricade, passing feet away from Vikna as a shot flies in, blasting straight through the armor and causing the tank to fall to the ground with a ground shaking crash. The scene shows a very young and poorly dressed Vikna holding a rifle shakily, her father standing beside her as he surveys the scene with binoculars. Shots came in and she'd try and return fire, but the recoil of the gun would knock her on her ass.

“Vikna! I told you to grab a carbine, dammit!” The definitely younger sounding Ramenskaya yells down at her before getting on the radio. “Where's our fucking barrage?!”

“Arty just got hit! Too close to the firing line!” A voice that Jack assumed was another officer yells back through the primitive looking device.

In fact, everything looked like it was haphazardly cobbled together from multiple sources to produce working items, such as the older looking radio and even the rifle Vikna had. It had something about Gentron written on the side, but it was cut off with another KineTine part that was welded to the bottom. How long had they been cut off, if they were even cut off?

“Dammit!” He shouts. “Sweetheart, you need to be my big girl, alright? You have to tell everyone on the line to fall back. Direct orders from the Varhand, alright?”

“I don't want to leave you!” She yells, her voice so full of emotion that it was unlike anything Jack had seen before. “W-what if you get hit?!”

“Don't worry about me! Help evacuate the wounded and-”

Before he could continue, a tracer slams into the Varhand, a loud, cat-like growl coming from him as he falls back onto the torn up concrete.

“NO!” Vikna screams, rushing over to her father as he pushes his hand down on the wound. “DAD! OH MY GOD!”

When she makes her way over to her dad, a few men start falling back without being ordered. They were fleeing without being ordered, making Jack's eye twitch with anger.

“Order the retreat.” Her father tells her. “I-I'll be fine.”

Jack looks down at his sucking chest wound and knows that's a lie. Vikna knows it too, but grabs her father's radio anyway.

“Line ten, full retreat!” She yells into the radio.

When the order is given, men scurry from their positions along the line and from positions in the rear, running for dear life as the intimidating wall of men, women, and machines continues to approach the haphazardly designed barricade. A large Avidae stops beside Vikna, patting her on the shoulder.

“We gotta get the Varhand out! Help me lift him!” The avian creature tells her, grabbing his arms as she grabs his legs. “He doesn't have much time! Evac shuttle is at the eleventh line!”

She nods and the two hoist the bleeding man up, making their way back as fast as they can while the real Vikna and Jack are moved further down the line. As the two make their way back, explosions go off around them and shots fly past them, by some miracle not hitting the completely exposed sailors. Tracers come from both sides as the Navy tries to suppress the other side, keeping their heads down and covering the three who are moving across what was now no man's land. A shot hits the ground behind Vikna and Jack sees shrapnel spray up into her crotch area, the feline screaming as she nearly drops her father's legs. Jack looks over, seeing Vikna holding her thighs before looking back up, seeing the three cross the next line of barricades. A blurred out figure sits by the shuttle, Vikna struggling to put detail to the body as the two carry the man to the all too familiar shuttle. When they make it to the shuttle, they're moved on board as the woman is finally revealed.

She's wearing a white dress with a generic red cross on it, a similarly colored white helmet being present with the same cross. She helps the man into the shuttle as Jack notices her fur, it looks just like Vikna's. That's when the realization dawned on him. As if to confirm it, Vikna grips his hand tight, unstable breathing being heard between bursts of machine gun fire and lasers being shot down the way. When he looks back down at Vikna, she's trembling slightly, causing Jack to look back up. When he does, tracers sweep right as the Vikna in the memory looks back just in time to see her mother get shot in the back with something big enough to leave a nasty hole. The woman drops immediately, spine severed at the shoulders as she drops the wounded man on the floor. Vikna screams bloody murder as her mother falls to the floor, helmet falling off the medic's head and a blank expression being present on her face. When Vikna's father sees the scene before him, his expression is much the same, though his reaction is far less dramatic.

The door to the dropship begins to close and an officer pushes Vikna out, the Varhand begging to let her stay before she's completely pushed from the craft. The memory stops when Vikna falls on the floor, a blank white slate being present. Vikna has tears staining her eyes as she sniffles gently, the seats turning into a bench when Jack slides over to comfort her. He rubs the top of her head, hoping to bring her some manner of comfort.

“I had a nightmare l-last night when I went to sleep before you.” She says with a sniffle.

“Don't talk.” The man says, shushing her as he holds her close, the tears streaming from her eyes staining his khaki shirt.

He plants a kiss in top of her head as her sobs slowly die down, feeling her pull away from his embrace. When he lets her go, she smiles up at him and pecks him on the lips, wiping her tears from her eyes as she chuckles.

“Imagine if people saw me like this.” She tells him. “They'd think I was some kind of crazy.”

“I think you're crazy for sticking with me all these years.” He tells her, ruffling her hair as she giggles like a school girl. “Do you want to do anything? I can take you out to eat or we can go shopping or something?”

“Well...if you're offering...” She says, a smirk creeping its way over her lips. “I think I can think of something.”

She pulls both of them off the seat and onto the floor in a surprising burst of speed and strength, getting on top of the man as she grins mischievously from ear to ear. Jack feels them both rise up briefly before coming to rest on one of the softest and most comfortable beds he'd ever felt, the entire room having changed in the blink of an eye. It was rustic, candles lighting the room in a gentle, orange glow as she begins stripping out of her shirt as she sits on top of the chuckling Marine.

“In the VR room?” He asks playfully. “Someone could walk in on us at any time.”

“I don't think so~.” Vikna replies, a latch closing on the wooden door as she bites her lower lip. “The door is separate from the VR door. If anyone comes, they'll have to open that other door up first.”

“When did you make this?” He asks, looking around the opulently decorated room. “It's amazing.”

“This was one of Ayn's scenes.” Vikna replies, taking off her short skirt as she begins undoing his tie. “She told me about it while you were being interviewed yesterday.”

“Hot.” Is all Jack says as she pulls the tie off his uniform, throwing it off to the side and unbuttoning his shirt.

She lowers her nearly naked form down onto his chest as she continues to unbutton his clothing underneath her body, her perfectly proportioned tits jiggling slightly as she undoes the restrictive item of clothing. She coos as she works, licking Jack's chin with a giggle every so often as his horny little feline continues to work at getting his clothes off. When she reaches the final button, she attempts to pull the item of clothing open, managing to get it open except for a single button hidden underneath his pants.

“What?” She whispers to herself, her sexy gaze broken by a bit of confusion.

“Undo my belt and pants for the last button.” He replies, kissing her on the nose as she rolls her eyes.

“I'm still not very good at teasing y'know. You never let me practice.” She says, scooting herself down a bit before undoing his belt.

Then, a devious thought comes to mind and Jack can see the look of mild annoyance fade to yet another mischievous grin. She pulls the belt out from under the buckle and slides herself down his body, resting her butt on top of his legs as she lowers herself down on top of the piece of belt. The man is a bit confused by what she's getting at before she takes the entire belt into her mouth at once, looking up at him with a smirk. He can't help but laugh at the absurd display, earning a scowl from Vikna as she pulls off the belt.

“Like I said!” She yells out indignantly, folding her arms. “You never let me tease you. I don't know what you like!”

“I don't like to be teased.” He tells her after his laughter tapers off. “Ends the fun too early.”

She sighs at that, continuing to pull the belt off before chucking it off in a fit of annoyance, her lusty little teasing session completely ruined. All of that is forgotten when she opens the button on his pants, his musk hitting her square in the face as his erect cock nearly does the same. He rubs the top of her head with his hand and chuckles, earning a content sigh from her.

“You're lucky I know you're not lying.” She tells him with a smile. “I've seen it happen, you big two pump chump.”

“Big words coming from the two lick kitten.” He replies with a grin.

“I-I was really pent up, okay!” She says defensively. “L-let's just fuck, okay?”

He nods and hoists her back up to him, officially taking any power Vikna once held away from her. He holds Vikna up on a point he found on her ribs that doesn't really cause her any discomfort with one hand as he pulls his pants and underwear down with his other. She giggles at the display, putting her arms out into a T as she looks back down at him with a playful look. He lowers her back down again and she gasps when her panty'd pussy brushes up against his naked cock, the gasp turning into a moan as she rests down on top of her well built and hard working hubby.

The two pull each other into a loving kiss, tongues attacking each other as Vikna's longer tongue desperately tries to throat fuck his face. Meanwhile, Jack is untying her bra, removing the restrictive piece of clothing with a delighted “Mmf” from Vikna. When he reaches down toward her panties, his concentration is broken for long enough to allow Vikna to sneak around his tongue, shoving her long and silky smooth tongue down his throat. She takes care not to go anywhere near his uvula, having made that mistake once and nearly paying dearly for it. When he feels around for the string on her panties, she slides back a little bit and he realizes the item of clothing is completely and utterly drenched. He pulls the panties away and Vikna moves her legs skillfully, shimmying the drenched panties off to the edge of the incredibly soft bed. She begins grinding herself on his cock, lathering his length in her peppermint juices as the two continue to throat fuck each other.

She eventually pulls back from his mouth, her tongue lagging slightly behind before she collapses on top of his chest. When she tries to raise herself onto his cock, she can't work up the strength to do so with how good it feels to just be on top of him. Her ass feels like it weighs half a ton, but luckily for her, he can just about lift that. He pulls her ass off his body and sets it down right on top of his prick, holding her at the tip of it as he slowly lowers her down, both of them moaning and groaning the entire way. When she finally hilts herself, she struggles not to cum immediately as Jack does the same, reveling in the pleasure of being connected once more.

“M-move me please.” She says, too awash with pleasure to do anything but lay there. “T-too good...”

“No problem, sweetheart.” He says, kissing her gently as her begins moving her up and down in a slow, rhythmic motion.

She begins to moan with glee, always enjoying when she didn't have to do any work to get herself off. His twitching and grunting aroused her even more than normal, the strong man kneading into her ass with his rough, coarse hands. Even with the firm grip on her ass, he manages to slip up and lose his grip. She slams herself down on top of him and her entire body is wracked with pleasure, her back arching in orgasmic bliss as she lets out a series of quiet little squeaks. He does his best to hold back for her sake, but it's not even a question of if, but when, and the when was now. His cock erupts inside her without so much as a grunt, the sudden and unexpected pleasure not even giving him enough time to take enough air in for such a noise. Spurts of his love and affection make their presence known as his lovable kitty takes it all in stride. There's not much to the cum shot, having not had very much time to prepare anything big for her, on top of having done it already last night before she went to sleep. However, this lack of cum and the recentness of his last orgasm made it feel so much better than it should have, making him wheeze whatever air was left in his lungs straight out his windpipe. Despite this, Vikna was still going through an orgasm of her own..

“S-shit...” The man says, holding her back tight as the high sensitivity of a previous orgasm nearly removes all control from him. “T-too tight!”

He moves his legs back enough to lift her spasming cunt off his dick, giving him just enough reprieve to regain his faculties and not crush his wife. She cries out with discontent as he pulls her off him, setting her off to the side of the bed as she rides out the rest of her aftershock without him.

“J-Jack...” She says with a whimper. “W-wh-ha-hy?”

“I would've crushed you.” He tells her. “I'm sorry. S-seven years hasn't changed me one bit.”

She squeaks again and pulls herself back onto him, holding onto his neck as she shudders and shakes another aftershock away. This was definitely one of the most janky sexual experiences Jack had ever had. She begins chuckling a bit, as Jack echoes the gesture, holding her gently as he uses his leg to keep her away from his dick.

“That was...something.” She says with a laugh. “I...can I have a do over?”

“Maybe later tonight.” He replies. “We allowed to sleep in here?”

“Ayn really doesn't want us to. She said something about the nightmares fucking with the VR system.” She replies back. “Whatever, she's always telling us not to do stuff for cultural reasons. She probably figures that it's bad manners to sleep where she can't spy on us.”

“I dunno. I'd be willing to believe it.” Jack says. “Well, if I felt like moving, that is.”

“She's just full of herself.” She tells him, pulling herself closer to him. “We can try again when we wake up.”

“Yeah, when we wake up.” The man tells her, distracted by what she said about nightmares. “Night.”

“Night.” She echoes, pulling herself right up to him.

With that, the two lovers fall asleep in the bed, lit by candle light as they both held each other lovingly.


	4. Chapter 3: A living nightmare

Chapter 3: A living nightmare

Vikna is thrown awake by the ear piercing sound of a massive explosion, covering her in dirt and gravel as she coughs up what got into her mouth. When her eyes focus, she sees fire, armor, men, and death. A tank is struck in the side by an explosion, the turret traversing and firing a reply out of its main cannon with a chest thumping boom. A few soldiers rush past her with weapons that are familiar to her, the entire wall of machines and men moving forward without her. She gets off the ground, following the men down the column of tanks and smaller gunned tanks. When they arrive at their destination, there's a man pointing a red flashlight down at a map, his face barely illuminated by the pitiful reflections coming off it. She crouches down next to all the others, nobody really noticing her until the map man looks up.

“Vikna?” The man asks, mirroring the sound of her husband.

His uniform was right, and so was his voice, but his face...it looked so wrong. He had cuts and bruises running down along cheeks and chin, caked in dirt and grime. His eyes betrayed nothing but the barest of emotions as he looked back down at the map, pointing to points on it and continuing to talk.

“Need arty right here, here, and here.” He says, pointing to various points. “Get the Vipers on station and try to cut off their advance here and here. Get someone to drop in an officer too. I can't keep leading us like this. There's too many men and not enough me.”

“What's going on?” She asks. “T-talk to me.”

“Welcome to my never ending nightmare.” He replies. “The battle for my mind.”

“W-what? You're not making any sense.” She tells him. “What do you mean the battle for your mind?”

“Coping mechanism.” He replies. “Don't know where in the world I am, or why in the world I'm here, but all I know is that I must kill the enemy before they kill us.”

“So...this place...” She says, trailing off.

“It's where I go every night you can't make it.” He replies. “I can't wake up until the battle is won.”

“Colonel!” One of the men yells, making his way up to the man before saluting. “Sir, we've spotted a large force of them making their way to our flanks!”

“I told you to stop calling me Colonel. I'm not a fucking officer.” The man tells the over enthusiastic enlisted man. “And stop saluting in an open field. If they see me, all of us are fucked.”

“Why didn't you tell me?!” Vikna asks, offended that the one closest to her would keep a secret this big from her.

“There's nothing you can do.” He replies. “Why would I bother you with something you can't help me with?”

“Because I bother YOU with things that YOU can't help me with!” She replies angrily.

Just as she says that, an explosion goes off about 50 yards away from her, Jack packing up the map.

“Get to your vehicles! We're pushing toward the town of Na'kai! We'll be safe there until we can get support tomorrow!” The Marine yells, pointing to a small glint on the horizon. “No stops! Vehicles will be buttoned up tight! Stay in formation or you'll be left behind!”

Everyone is already moving to what Vikna first thought were tanks, the doors opening on the backs and revealing them as APCs. The explosions are getting closer as the APCs and tanks return fire, silencing a good chunk of the rounds as Jack pulls Vikna along with him. When he makes it to the vehicle in front of him, she barely recognizes the thing. From all those years ago, in a movie. He opens the door for her and she climbs inside, the door being slammed shut as he gets in the drivers seat. The engine starts up and the vehicles are already being moved forward, so he steps on the gas.

“Easy, sir! Almost knocked me off the gun!” The man in the center of the vehicle yells down.

“I'm sorry, do you want to be turned into red paste instead?!” The angry Marine asks the man on the gun. “Shut up and scan your sectors!”

“Aye, sir!” He says before the gun erupts on top of the vehicle.

“What the hell is going on?!” Vikna asks. “How long has this been going on?!”

“Seven years!” He replies. “I came here without any support and everything here was trying to kill me! Every night you slept with me, a man appeared to help me with the fight! Every night you didn't, ten men would die!”

“W-what do I have to do with this?!” She asks, raising more questions than answers.

“If you weren't there for me, the forces of this world would've taken over my mind and driven me to self destruction!” He replies.

“What do you mean?!” She asks, still not being satisfied with his answer as debris from an explosion peppers the side of the vehicle.

“Vikna, I would've killed myself a long time ago if you hadn't been there for me.” He replies more firmly. “Last night a tank arrived at our camp with a full compliment of crew and maintenance staff. You're the reason why I'm still alive. I don't know how or why, but you being next to me seems to create reinforcements. It's like something out of a Japanese cartoon.”

“You mean ani-”

“Don't say it!” He yells back. “Yes, it's just like that! Same stupid logic and everything!”

“Jesus, I...what the fuck?” She asks. “Does this happen every night?”

“The battles rage on when you're not in bed with me.” He replies. “I know you try your best, but the reason I go to bed so early is because I want to fight this battle. We've already decimated half their army and if we keep going-SHIT!”

The vehicle turns so hard, Vikna thought it was going to flip. An explosion rocks the vehicle and the gunner falls down, face burnt and bleeding. He begins screaming bloody murder as he clutches at his face, A man on the other side grabbing his arms and going to work.

“Get him stable! Every man we lose is another man THEY gain!” Jack yells. “Don't let him die or I'll kick your ass!”

He nods, wrapping the face up on the bleeding and burned man while Vikna covers her eyes. Explosions threw the vehicle this way and that as the engine screamed, being pushed to the limit as the glow in the distance grew near.

“Coming up on the village!” The radio yells out. “Three tanks on the ridge to our left!”

“Take them the fuck out!” The Marine shouts into the radio. “Bradley, take the front and punch through the gate!”

As he says that, the vehicle slows, slotting in behind one of the APCs, the village coming in at surprisingly high speed.

“EVERBODY BRACE!” Jack shouts, Vikna grabbing the injured man so he doesn't fly forward when debris is inevitably struck.

The APC barrels through a wooden gate and the vehicle is shaken violently, running over wood as houses and buildings are blown apart around them. The APC, also known as a “Bradley”, skids to a halt, firing the main cannon a few times as screeches are heard outside.

“Everyone who isn't taking care of someone, dismount and start clearing rooms! Vikna, take that MP5 on the back of the Humvee! Jeckel, you're trailing me! Vikna, you're behind Jeckel!” Her man says with more authority than she's used to hearing come form him.

“Copy, sir!” The man in the front passenger's seat tells him, Vikna grabbing the gun off the back of the wall that's just her size.

“Alright.” She says, pulling back the oddly placed charging handle and accidentally locking it back. “Uh, shit.”

“Is it stuck?” He asks, stepping out of the vehicle.

“Y-yeah.” She replies.

“Slap that fucker as hard as you can.” He tells her. “Make her squeal!”

She blushes a bit at his wording, but does as he says, slapping down the charging handle as hard as she could. It frees it from the recess it was stuck in, the gun now fully chambered as he grabs webbing from the truck.

“We'll clear the buildings we surveyed first and camp out here until next time. This place is a good funnel for them.” He tells her, moving up to a building the 'Humvee' had parked by.

“Colonel, don't you think we should take the lead? We're disposable and you're not.” Jeckel says.

“No. You're figments with less training than actual grunts. I'd say you're about on par with Chechens, but that might be pushing it a bit.” The man replies. “You're not disposable either. Every time one of you dies, the enemy adds one more soldier to their ranks. I've briefed everyone on this multiple times.”

Jack pulls out a cylindrical grenade and pulls 2 pins from it, Vikna flipping the safety off the pint-sized gun. He opens the door a crack and tosses the cylinder in, the explosion coming less than 2 seconds later. It thumped her chest as he moves in, rifle firing exactly twice as Jeckel moved in behind him. Vikna follows along as well, her husband firing his weapon 3 more times. When her eyes adjust to the darkness of the building, what she sees below her nearly makes her fall to the ground with fright. The things he had killed were mangled, twisted abominations of anthros and humans alike, their skin and fur all a matte brown color with their clothes matching as well. 2 bangs come from the stairway ahead of her, a body falling down and screeching like a beast from a horror movie as Jack continues pushing up the stairs. A couple more shots come from upstairs as Vikna refuses to go further, fearing what she might see if she does. As she turns back around, she sees someone standing in the doorway, jerking around as they do nothing but stare.

“Uh, hello?” She asks, lowering the gun. “Who are you?”

The being responds by screeching loudly, Vikna raising her weapon and pulling the trigger. It fires in a full auto, the thing not faltering before it bats the gun out of her hands, pinning her to the floor in a flash.

“Femaaale.” It says in a voice that's between a whisper and a screech. “Give him meeeen~.”

“N-no!” She yells out of reflex.

It rears its ugly, matte brown head back, screeching and bearing its awful teeth before a large mass causes the thing to fly into a wall. When Vikna regains her bearings, she sees Jack with a sledgehammer, dashing at the beast before using the hammer to bash it through the wall.

“DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!” He screams, making his way through the wall and slamming the hammer back down on top of it.

The thing croaks and he lets the hammer down on its head, bashing it in and splattering matte brown goop all over the ground. He continues to beat on the body, turning it into goo as he shouts with every scream. When the thing that jumped her is nothing but paste, Jack gets off it, huffing and puffing as explosions sound outside the gate to his right. He pulls the sledgehammer back and puts it back in a holder on his back, getting on the radio.

“All teams, check in.” Jack says.

A cacophany of replies come over the radio and he smiles, looking back at Vikna.

“We'll be waking up soon.” He says, a warm smile on his face. “Thanks for the A-10 by the way.”

“Uh...” Is all she can manage before she's thrown to the ground, her body twitching before she tenses up.

She opens her eyes and looks around, seeing candles and wood everywhere as a banging comes from a door.

“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR GOD DAMMIT!” A very angry and distressed voice yells out from the other side.

“THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!” Jack asks angrily, bolting up from his sleeping position.

The door unlocks and Ayn busts in, followed by 2 blue guards dressed in armor and loaded for bear. When she looks around and sees there's nothing there, she calms down a bit. That's when she notices it's the room she takes some of the men she beds to. Her mood flips instantly, shooing the guards out of the room as she sees both Jack and Vikna laying naked in the over-sized bed. However, she's stopped in her tracks when she sees the angry look on Jack's face.

“Leave while we change.” He tells her.

This seems to remind Vikna she's naked, covering herself and squealing with embarrassment.

“GET OUT!” She screams indignantly, Ayn proceeding to do just that before closing the door.

Jack turns his attention back to Vikna when Ayn leaves, watching her lower her arms and look up at him with worry.

“W-what were those things?” She asks, shivering a bit.

“We call them 'the Meld'. They're mental manifestations of the guilt I've accumulated throughout the years. Hundreds of thousands of them are spread across a world created by my mind.” He replies. “The only thing they want to do is take control and make me pull the trigger on myself. Even if I was stripped of anything I could possibly use to kill myself, I'd never be the same or even remotely sane if I let them win. My personality would completely shatter.”

“How do you know that?” She asks.

“They told me.” He replies. “It's the only thing they ever talk about. 'The Meld will consume you' they say, 'make you suicide'. That's their battle cry.”

“That's horrible!” She yells.

“Oh, believe me. It could've been much MUCH worse.” He says, smiling a bit. “I believe I have my...mental deficiency to thank for that.”

“What?” She asks.

“The way my brain is wired gives me a chance to fight back against the insanity. The neural pathways in my brain are constantly at war when I sleep, trying their hardest to cope with the disgusting and brutal things I've done in the pursuit of peace.” He replies. “The side of me that's going crazy is doing its damnedest to make sure that I go insane and try to kill myself. The other side of me, the side you know and love, is doing his best to keep himself the same. I don't have permission to die, remember?”

“I...I remember.” She says with a bit of a chuckle.

“So, I first ended up there a few days after the war ended. I was alone, facing over a hundred thousand alone. I fought off as many as I could before I made a break for it, making it to a safe area, waking up a few hours later. I can't remember what happened after that, but I know you were there.” He continues. “After you slept with me for a few nights, we had to sleep apart for the next night. The next thing I know, there's a squad of Marines by my side, giving me a rifle and equipment to face the demons I was fighting. I didn't figure it out right away, but eventually I figured out that you were the key to winning. Every night I slept with you, I'd get more men and equipment. Now, don't take this the wrong way, I slept with you because you're my wife, but the added bonus of getting equipment to supply myself during this campaign was an added bonus.”

“So, I'm like a supply depot?” She asks.

“You're the cutest supply depot in the history of ever.” He replies, stealing a kiss as she giggles. “After a few years of this, we eventually built up enough men to begin making surgical strikes. Just recently we've amassed enough men and firepower to take the offensive, going for body count and maximum casualties. My forces estimate that we've made a thirty percent dent in their forces. There is one thing, though.”

“What's that?” She asks.

“The more I kill in this world, the more guilt, and in turn, Meld, pile up. That's why I say this has to stop. I can't keep killing people or I'll go insane, even if it's completely justified.” He says. “If I can win the battle within my mind, something tells me all the pain will go away. So, I can't kill anymore people unless I'm absolutely backed into a corner.”

“I'm not opposed to this.” She tells him.

“Then why are we flying directly into Bhainen's path on the way to Sukisan?” Jack asks, the friendly pretense in his voice dropping immediately.

Her eyes widen with surprise as her ears fold back, mouth opening a bit in shock.

“I know you want him gone, but he's gonna fuck us up if we go after him with one ship. Leave this to everyone else.” He tells her, getting in close. “I'm putting my foot down, Vikna. If we sail anywhere near those areas where Bhainen is at, I'm pulling us out.”

“You don't understand.” She says, looking down at the bed.

“I don't understand?” He asks. “What don't I understand?”

“The wrath he could bring down at any time. He's ruthlessly efficient and-”

“You think I haven't met men like him in my time?” Jack asks. “I've seen the guy. The look in his eye told me everything I need to know. He WILL kill you. He'd want nothing more for shattering his pride in front of the Emperor like you did. Right now, the best option we have is to lay low and try to sneak around any obstacles he might place in our path.”

“No, he needs to be stopped.” She says. “He needs to be stopped NOW!”

“I won't allow you-”

“IT'S MY SHIP!” She screams indignantly.

“AND THAT'S OUR SON!” Jack shouts back, making her heart skip a beat. “I'm not gonna let his mom die because she went off to kill some big bad wolf! What am I supposed to tell him, huh?! His mom died and daddy's going to die too because she left her responsibilities behind?! THIS IS WHAT HAVING A CHILD ENTAILS! You can't just run off and fuck around anymore!”

“Oh that's fucking RICH coming from you!” She shouts back, having had enough. “Says the man who left me for TWO YEARS to go off and train to kill people better! How do you think I felt when you left me for so long, you fucking prick!”

“So that makes it okay for you to do?!” He asks angrily.

“YES!” She screams back. “I've been doing all the dishes, cleaning all the clothes, watching over Franklin, getting all the groceries, and making all the food! What have you done?! Drive around on that quad of yours and run after cows?! Then you come home and play with Franklin until you want to go do stuff by yourself! AND THEN, you go off to sleep and start having nightmares, so I have to drop whatever the fuck I'M DOING and go comfort YOUR ASS! I think I've earned a little break!”

“Why the hell didn't you tell me?!” He asks.

“BECAUSE YOU'RE A BROKEN FUCKING MESS THAT I HAVE TO CLEAN UP!” She screams back in reply.

Jack looks back at her with a shocked expression on his face. Vikna is gritting her teeth, borderline growling at him as her tail whips angrily from side to side.

“I...I know-”

“NO, YOU FUCKING DON'T!” She screams. “Do you know what it's like to take care of a child and a mentally defective MAN CHILD?! Better yet, a SELF DESTRUCTIVE mentally defective man child! You can't even work up the strength to show me a good time in bed! It's always a fucking slog that ends on a low note! I at least expect to receive as good as I'm giving!”

“Vikna...” He says, lips quivering a bit.

“You NEVER offer to cook any of the times I haven't made food! I LEAVE THE RECIPES OUT FOR A REASON! SO YOU CAN COOK THEM!” She screams. “I end up having to get up at ten in the afternoon to make dinner for our starving kid! Oh, and let's not forget the barn! You sit your ass inside that thing for an hour every single day, hiding from responsibilities you oh so adamantly preach! I'm sick and tired of taking care of two CHILDREN with no help from the one who's supposed to be the MAN of the house!”

“Y-you said you didn't mind-”

“THAT WAS A LIE TO KEEP YOU HAPPY!” She replies with yet another scream. “YOU STUPID, INCONCEIVABLY RETARDED MAN CHILD!”

She sits on the bed, giving him a deadly glare as he quivers, having just been torn apart by the one woman he loves and trusts more than anything in the world. He's so close to tears that he's having a hard time keeping himself together. She was right. He needed to man up. He turns off the side of the bed, stepping down onto the floor as he grabs his underwear and pants, putting them both on.

“Where do you think you're going?” She asks.

He doesn't have the strength to respond, just speeding his efforts as he hastily puts on his shirt, leaving the tie behind as he makes his way to the door. When it locks, he opens up the menu and stops the simulation entirely. He hears a small thud behind him as the door to his front opens, revealing the outside world to him for the first time since he entered. When he exits the VR room, the door shuts behind him and Ayn is waiting there, mortified.

“S-sweetie?” She asks.

“Where's Frankie?” Jack asks, wavering on the edge of crying. “We're going back home.”

“What?” She asks.

“We're going home!” Jack yells back at her, tears now flowing from his eyes as he makes his way to a sign.

He types in “Nursery” and is directed toward the room, following the arrows as Ayn follows him. He gets on the phone, calling Fluff directly as he makes his way to the nursery.

“Hello?” The blue bird asks.

“I need a portal back home inside the nursery.” Jack says shakily. “I'm taking Franklin home.”

“What?!” He asks. “WHY?!”

“Personal issues.” Jack replies, on the verge of tears again.

“Oh...what happened?” He asks.

“N-nothing!” Jack replies, letting a sob slip. “P-portal!”

“Alright, there's one inside the nursery.” He tells Jack.

Jack sniffles in response and hangs up, unable to talk anymore as he makes his way into the nursery. Franklin and the Nannie are both looking at the portal with confusion before Jack enters the room, looking like a wreck. Franklin looks over at his dad and smiles, until he notices the face his father was making.

“Daddy?” The little feline asks with worry.

“We're going home, Frankie.” His dad says with a sniffle, making his way to the portal and waving him along. “Come on, buddy. The nice blue bird will g-give our stuff back.”

“Are you crying?” Franklin asks.

“A-allergies.” Jack replies. “Come on, let's go.”

The feline knew not to argue, following his dad into the portal as they both came out the other side.

“Where's mommy?” He asks.

“Mommy has to go away for a while.” Ayn replies. “She'll be back soon. Take care, okay?”

“Okay.” Franklin replies back. “Goodbye, Ayn.”

“See you later.” The jackal tells him, the portal closing behind them both.

“Come on buddy, I'll m-make you breakfast.” The man says, utterly defeated and wanting nothing more than to hide away in his barn.

1 hour later

Franklin is sitting at the table, eating his eggs and hash browns as Jack opens up a beer, not knowing what else to do. His son watches as he sits down at the table, looking over at the empty spot his mother usually fills.

“Daddy, what happened to mommy?” Franklin asks.

“She went off to save the galaxy.” Jack replies absentmindedly. “While I have you here, I need to talk with you. It's a serious talk that I didn't think I was going to have so soon.”

“Does this mean I'm a big boy?” He asks, smiling wide as a bit of egg falls out of his mouth. “Oops.”

“Well, finish eating first, then we'll talk.” He says with a chuckle, Franklin swallowing the food in his mouth.

“Done!” He says excitedly, sitting up straight as his tail flicks from side to side.

Jack downs the rest of the beer before setting the can down on the table, putting it aside before sighing.

“Son, daddy's sick.” He says. “Daddy's sick from all the things he did as a Marine. Really sick. Over the next couple months, daddy is going to scream and shout in the bedroom because he's not well in the head. I need you to be strong and stay safe when I do this, okay? Don't come in and check on me or I might hurt you without knowing it.”

“Is that why you scream when mommy isn't able to tuck you in?” Franklin asks, his tail no longer flicking before drooping on the floor.

“Yes, that's why daddy screams at night.” Jack replies, looking down at the table. “I'll need you to help me with the cows and horses, okay? Can you be my big, strong boy and help daddy with his work?”

“You can count on me!” He says with a smile, his tail flicking from side to side again.

“Good, that's my little soldier boy.” Jack tells him, echoing the words of his late grandfather. “Let's go get ready for the day, okay?”

“Alright!” Franklin yells excitedly, rushing out of his seat and up the stairs as Jack gets up at a more reasonable pace.

6 hours later

Jack has the helmet of his armor on top of his head, the HUD pointing out various points on the armor that needed to be replaced or fixed due to age and neglect. His son was sitting up on the work bench, watching him work.

“Is that your costume helmet?” He asks.

“No, it's a highly advanced suit of armor that can protect me from someone throwing a pebble at me to a twenty millimeter cannon shell to the chest.” Jack replies. “That was just a lie to keep you from trying to get into it. This suit could crush your bones and hurt you really badly.”

“I wouldn't fit inside anyway. You're bigger than mommy and I!” He says with a giggle. “Why was I not allowed in here?”

“Because you were young and broke a lot of things.” Jack replies, opening up a canister of nanites and letting them lose on the armor.

“Hopefully that will do the trick!” Junior says with a gleeful tone. “More applications of nanites might be necessary to get the armor into safe working order, if you could call this dangerous piece of equipment safe.”

“Well, is it working?” Jack asks, the massive helmet feeling a bit heavy after wearing it for 2 hours.

“It appears so. Come back tomorrow and apply more nanites. These things take time.” She replies. “I'll shut down the reactor to save the core from depleting itself, as I forgot to do so before hand.”

“Nice, good to see some major faults are still present on you.” Jack tells her sarcastically.

“It's better than being perfect!” Junior says with a giggle. “Now go on, do whatever it is you normally do. I think your son is taking a liking to that rifle on the bench.”

“Put the rifle down, Franklin.” Jack says sternly.

“S-sorry!” He yelps out, not expecting his dad to see him fiddling with the gun.

3 weeks later

Jack wipes the sweat off his brow, having finished torquing down on the bolt that held the boots of his suit in place. His son was asleep early today, as he'd been working hard alongside Jack to keep the ranch up and running. He had to admit, it was nice to have a second pair of hands, but asking his son to help so early in his life made him feel like shit. He was too young to be working so hard. Ayn had been in and out of the ranch, taking care of Franklin while he got more work done or just giving him an adult to talk to. Fluff had also given him a few calls, checking in on him and giving updates as to Vikna's whereabouts. However, Vikna herself hadn't called him at all, which only served to lower him deeper into the depths of his own sorrow. The fight in his mind against the Meld was barely going anywhere, with most nights netting them thousands of meld in a sea of hundreds of thousands of them. The costs of the war against the meld with no supplies was starting to get them down to the point where Jack would stay up for almost three days at a time to keep the battle at bay. As he rises off the dirt floor of the barn, his phone begins ringing, leading to him picking it up.

“Hello?” He asks, wanting to go inside and eat already.

“Hey, uh, Ayn is bringing a friend over today. Hope you don't mind.” Fluff replies, sounding happier than usual. “Vikna is doing well and didn't encounter anything as far as we can tell.”

“Good, I'll get the guest cabin ready.” He tells him. “Thanks for calling.”

“Yep, see ya.” He says, hanging up as a portal opens literally right in front of Jack's face.

“You fucker!” Jack yells, backing up as Ayn and a very small, brown feline make their way into the garage.

“Rude.” Ayn teases, moving her tail away as the portal closes behind her. “How have you been, sweetie?”

“Uh, I've been doing fine.” He replies, tossing the wrench onto his work bench. “So, uh, who is she?”

“I'm Kaya!” The small brown feline replies with a smile. “I...wait, do I know you?”

“I don't...wait, Kaya? Kaya with a y?” He asks.

“Yes, K A Y A, Kaya!” She replies with a smile.

“Uh, name's Jack.” He says, holding out his hand. “I, uh, yeah, um...”

“No way...NO WAY!” She says excitedly. “I finally found you!”

She completely ignores the man's hand and pulls him into a hug, leaving Ayn in utter confusion as Jack blushes profusely.

“H-hey, I'm married...” The man tells her.

“I know, but it's just so amazing that I can finally tell people I'm not crazy anymore!” She yells out with joy. “I told them I'd find you and prove them wrong!”

“What's going on?” Ayn asks, not knowing how these 2 know each other.

“Uh, well, you know...” He says, trying to find the words through his embarrassment and Kaya's comforting and warm hug.

He eventually pulls his phone up and opens up the web browser, typing in “Kaya” into the search bar and handing it off to Ayn. She looks at it for a second, flicking the phone up a few times and tapping before her eyes go wide.

“No...” She says, looking up at him before looking back down at the phone again. “No way!”

“Y-yeah, that's her...” Jack tells her. “She's, uh, well.”

“I'm his character!” Kaya says with glee, continuing to hug the Marine and rub against his chin.

“Oh, you dirty little boy~.” Ayn says, making her way up to him. “Created her to live out all your wildest fantasies?”

“N-no!” Jack says. “S-she's just a character I made for a comic, that's all!”

“He gave all of us the self awareness so we wouldn't have breakdowns!” Kaya says, now purring as she begins to lick at the underside of his chin. “I thought you'd be rounder.”

“How long ago did you make her?” Ayn asks.

“Way before I knew you guys.” He replies. “Her concept, that is. She began to take shape after I found out who you all were. She was...well...my favorite for a while.”

“Naughty.” Ayn says.

“S-stop it...” Jack tells her. “Not like that. She was my favorite to draw. Her design's fun and intuitive...”

“He also likes how happy I am all the time.” She says, continuing to purr into his chest as Ayn chuckles.

“Guess that's what happens when you live with a real person with real issues too long, isn't it? Is that what we were to you? Escapism?” Ayn asks.

“I'd be lying if I said no.” He replies, only telling a partial truth. “Can we not talk about it right now? I just want to get inside and make dinner. I've been working on the THOR armor for a few hours now and I just finished fixing it.”

“YOU fixed that armor?” She asks.

“Well, the nanites and Junior did most of the work, I was basically just a monkey being given commands.” He replies.

“Should've guessed.” She tells him, smiling as Kaya finally lets go of him. “How's Franklin?”

“Tired. I asked him to start helping and he's been pushing himself way too hard.” He replies, waving them all out of the barn. “What about you two? How've things been going with you?”

“I'm doing great!” Kaya replies. “I met a human the other day and made him cum in less than ten seconds!”

“Uh, safe for work topics, please.” He tells her.

“Oh, well, uh, I've been talking with Ayn!” She says.

“She doesn't really get out much outside of the show.” Ayn tells him. “Kind of obsessed with staying on her broken ship.”

“Well, I can't blame her. I wouldn't want to be stranded in a single universe or time period if I could help it.” He replies. “Especially if I was her.”

When the 3 enter the house, Jack makes his way to the kitchen, taking some left over pizza out of the fridge.

“I'll make something for breakfast.” He says, opening the microwave and sighing. “I feel like a deadbeat dad making you two shitty microwaved pizza.”

“It's fine, I don't mind.” Kaya tells him with giggle.

“It's a lot better than when my dad cooks.” Ayn says with a shudder. “He could overcook an ice cube if he tried.”

The microwave beeps and The man takes the large plate out of it, setting the foot on the counter for them to eat.

“I'm only taking a slice.” He says. “You two okay with staying in a cabin?"

“Sure.” Kaya says with a smile.

“Vik-er, Ayn knows the rules. No going out after dark, even if you have to shit really bad. You'll be staying in a cabin tonight.” He tells her.

“What, why?” Ayn asks. “Also, did you just call me Vik-”

“I don't want either of you to hear me at night.” He replies, cutting off Ayn. “I scream really loud. Neither of you need to hear that. Franklin sleeps with earplugs in so he doesn't have to hear it.”

“Why?” Kaya asks.

“Kaya!” Ayn yells back.

“No, she's fine.” Jack says with a smile. “I know you have no burdens of your own, so I'll just say that I'm fighting a war for my mind.”

“Thank you for telling me.” She says politely.

The man finishes his slice of pizza with a final swallow, making his way to the fridge and grabbing a beer.

“You're still twenty one, right?” Jack asks.

“Twenty two, I'm perfectly legal!” She says with a smile. “Do you want to take me to your room, or-”

“No.” He says firmly. “I'm married. Don't make another pass.”

“O-okay.” She says, backing down.

“You could be a little nicer.” Ayn says.

“I...I'm sorry. Just a bit stressed is all.” He says, making his way over to a doorway by the stairs. “I'll be back.”

7 hours later

Jack wakes with a start, hyperventilating as he begins to hear ringing off to his side. When he looks to his right, he sees the bird face of Fluff. Below it, he sees the man has called at least 20 times already. When Jack picks up the phone, he opens the call and clears his throat.

“Hello?” He asks.

“They got her!” He yells back into the phone, making the tired man even more confused.

“They got who?” Jack asks.

“Oh god man, she's a goner! I-I tried to warn her but she's too focused on killing him!” Fluff replies, not giving the Marine any answers.

“Slow down.” He tells the bird man. “Who's a goner? Did someone take your girl friend?”

“It's Vikna!” He replies, almost crying the words out. “She's gone!”

Jack feels his heart stop, hoping that he heard wrong.

“What?” He asks.

“S-she's gone!” He says, sniffling a bit. “One of Bhainen's men took Vikna!”

After the bird man repeats himself, Jack nearly drops the phone, setting it down as he takes a deep breath.

“Give me half an hour.” Jack says, hanging the phone up and throwing the blanket off his bed.

He stuffs the device in his pocket, stepping off the bed and into his slippers. He doesn't bother getting dressed, as he's not taking his body armor with him. He's had enough of the bullshit, the threats, the people calling him at 3 AM with stupid problems he didn't care about. All Jack wanted to do was raise his kid and keep the ranch going. He didn't want to kill anymore, the only thing he wanted to do was raise his horses and cattle until the former were ready to ride and the latter were ready to sell. He makes his way down the hallway toward the stairs, opening the door to Franklin's room and turning on the lights.

“Up and at 'em, boy.” He says, Franklin whining and pulling the plugs out of his ears.

“Daddy?” He asks.

“Your mom's in trouble. You might have to stay here with a friend of mine for a few days, okay?” Jack asks. “Will you be okay with just you and her?”

“Is it Ayn?” He asks with a smile on his face.

“I'll see what she can do.” Jack replies. “Stay inside for now, okay? I'll be right back.”

Franklin nods, pulling the covers over his eyes as Jack turns the lights off, making his way down the stairs. When he makes it to the door, he unlocks the locks and opens the door, feeling the cool Montana air flowing over his mostly naked body. He steps out onto the porch, seeing the barn in the distance as he continues walking down toward the path. It was a full moon tonight, illuminating everything under a bright, moon-lit glow. Things were dancing around in the treeline, just out of sight as he makes his way to the barn, cackling and screeching coming from the woods at an almost inaudible level. When he steps up to the garage, he gives the lock on the barn a swift tug, breaking the mount for it completely before throwing the door open. The screeching stops as he turns a massive switch, the lights inside the barn switching on as he makes his way past the old Mustang. Where he was going, he wouldn't need a car.

He stops before the platform holding the Mk. VIII THOR in place, a shameless Mjolnir rip-off if he'd ever seen one. The armor stand comes to life as he hears a small, yet bass-like whir sound from the machine. The lighting on the suit sputters to life, a cage of energy encasing his suit as it's moved from the rear of the stand to the middle of it. When it stops, the suit sways slightly, being suspended from one of the hooks on the stands as he moves his way behind the massive armor system. When he stops behind the stand, a body suit comes up from the stand, which Jack steps into the feet of after taking off his slippers. He slips into the body suit as parts are already being taken off the mounts on the stand, being prepared for the man as a second set of arms makes themselves known. Jack steps into the boots, feeling them clamp around his feet as he grabs onto the grab handles. The arms proceed to lift him off the ground, laying him at a 45 degree angle as they begin strapping pieces of armor onto him. His arms and legs are the first to be covered, the sound of many bolts being fastened at once and pulling him in many different directions filling his ears. The next pieces of armor are attached to his crotch, butt, and back, powering up the body suit as the weight of the armor becomes nothing to him. Finally, the chest piece is attached to his chest, clicking into place as bolts are fastened and tightened.

He's put back into an upright position, allowed to stand of his own will as the helmet for the suit is lowered in front of him. He takes the bulky piece of titanium alloy, locking it onto his head before the HUD boots up. An IH Kaltag logo appears in the top right corner as the motion tracker and shield displays come online, ARA popping up in front of the logo before long. She looks like she's sleeping, but that soon changes once the audio test comes online, waking her from her slumber. She groans a few times, stretching out as the round and grenade counter pop up in the top left, his shields beginning to charge as Junior yawns.

“Good morning, mister Jackson.” She says. “What are we doing today?”

“Search and rescue.” He replies dryly, making his way off the bench.

He makes his way toward the back of the barn, a dusty and neglected canister in the back, dusting off some of the dirt and grime that it's accumulated from the years of sitting in the barn. When he wipes it off, he taps a button on the bottom and a quarter panel opens up, showing the contents of the canister clear as day. When he taps the “Weaponry” option, a whole slew of guns are presented to him, from lasers to launchers. He taps on the M75A3 automatic rifle and the weapon appears in his hand, being slung onto his back as the magazines set themselves neatly into the pouches and ammunition hard cases around his body. He then grabs a very large 8 gauge shotgun from the cylindrical device, the massive shotgun appearing in his hands as shells stow themselves away in the hard cases and shell holders that have manifested on his wrists. He racks the shotgun back and begins loading in shells until he can't load anymore, racking it back and forth before loading another shell.

“We're navigating to cabin three.” He tells her, grabbing more shells for the massive shotgun and putting them wherever they'd fit.

“Understood, marking the waypoint on your HUD.” She says, a small, blue arrow pointing to the left as he looks toward the side of the barn.

He sees the arrow says the objective is about 1 kilometer away, Jack turning toward the entrance of the barn as he turns the night vision mode on his visor on. He makes his way to the front of the barn, twisting the light switch off before closing the door. When it closes, he looks out toward the forest, seeing the monsters he's slain many times before standing silently, unsure of what to do. He turns on the loud speaker and clears his throat.

“Anyone who has the balls to challenge me right now, come forth!” He yells, eyeing his motion tracker before looking back at the monsters in front of him. “Nobody?! Then stay where you are and don't interfere!”

The monsters twitch their heads a bit before moving aside, the super soldier making his way toward the forest as the things screech a bit at his approach. He levels the shotgun with the one who made the noise, shutting it up immediately. The walk to the cabin is rather uneventful, save for the skin walkers that followed just inside of his motion tracker range. When the cabin is in sight, the way point disappears and Jack walks up to the door. He bangs on it a few times and turns on his helmet light, shining it into the cabin as he sees Kaya and Ayn huddled on a bed, waking from their slumber.

“Get up! Vikna's been captured!” Jack yells inside, turning back to see his less than friendly escorts disappear from the flashlight's radius.

Jack can hear a muffled “Oh shit!” come from the cabin, Ayn and Kaya rushing around furiously in an effort to get their clothes on. When the door opens to the cabin, Kaya looks over and sees Jack clad in the suit he was working on yesterday. When he turns back to the forest, he raises the massive shotgun and takes aim at the creature standing too close for comfort.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” Ayn screams out.

“Keep close and don't fucking stray off. These things scale their strength with the person they're fighting.” He replies calmly, having had to deal with these monsters the entire time he lived here. “No hand to hand. Ayn, take the shotgun.”

“T-this thing is huge!” She says, taking the massive shotgun in her hands.

“It'll tear them apart like wet tissue paper.” He replies, taking the rifle off his back and chambering a round. “Don't blast them until they get close. I'm sure you can see them with your eyesight.”

“F-fuck, there's at least three of them.” She says, shotgun shaking a bit. “Why'd we have to stay out here?! I would've settled for screams in the middle of the night!”

“Too late for that, let's get moving.” He tells them both. “Kaya, you gonna be okay?”

“I've seen worse.” She replies, the tell tale click-clack of her racking the slide on a pistol. “Let's get back to the house.”

He nods and hoists Kaya up onto his shoulders, a surprised yelp coming from the feline as he makes a break for it. The feline grabs onto his neck as the three rush toward the edge of the forest, Jack keeping his pace steady enough for Ayn to keep up. The boot falls of the suit sound like thunder claps without the dampers on, shaking the ground as the physical embodiment of a lusty goddess manages to keep pace with the man. He sees one jump into their path, but no sooner did it jump in, a mighty thunder clap comes from his right as the beast is torn to shreds. A resounding “click-clack” comes from the shotgun Ayn was wielding as the corpse turns to ash.

Jack sees 2 on his scanners, coming up on their rear and taps Kaya's thigh, hearing her open up with a machine pistol. The 2 dots peel off and split up as they make it to the edge of the forest and Jack stops in his tracks, Kaya being thrown off by the sudden change in momentum. When he turns back, the 2 things are circling toward them, screeching and cackling as they go. When the HUD marker lines up with the one rushing right, he squeezes the trigger, rattling off a cacophony of fire from his rifle. The rounds impact the massive, goat-headed thing as it slides to the ground, Ayn blasting the other one with a wall of buckshot. When the dust settles and the sound of gunfire echoes off the mountains to the west, Jack grabs the shotgun from Ayn's hand and makes his way to the house.

“What, the, FUCK?!” Ayn asks angrily. “WHAT WERE THOSE?!”

“The reason we stay inside at night.” He replies, racking the pump on the shotgun before loading 2 shells. “You're a damn good shot, you know that?”

“W-well, thanks, but seriously, what are those things?” She asks, calming down considerably.

“Monsters.” He replies, walking up to the porch. “Hey, I need to ask you a favor.”

“What?” Ayn asks.

“Do you feel like taking care of Franklin for a while?” He asks. “Vikna's been taken and I need to get her back.”

“Why doesn't anybody ever listen to me?!” She asks angrily. “I told her not to go off and hunt that muscle bound freak, but she never listens!”

“So, that's a no?” Jack asks.

“Of course it's a no!” She yells in reply. “I have things I need to do!”

With that, Jack turns his attention to Kaya, who just looks happy to be inside.

“What about you? I know we haven't known each other for long, but-”

“Of course I'll do it!” She says with a smile. “You completely dictate my entire life!”

“I, uh, don't do that.” He tells her. “You have the right to refuse.”

“I know, but I won't.” She tells him, her smile turning to a smirk. “I'll take good care of your boy. Anything you need me to do?”

“In the third pole barn, there's a scrap exo that I brought back from the MARSOC training I did. Adjust it to fit you and you can use that to move hay into the trailer. Make sure to give them at least 10 bails of hay a day per feeder. If you can manage, give them 15. Franklin will know where the feeders are.” He replies. “Also, there's a water trailer you need to use to give the horses water. The cattle don't need it, since they're right by a river.”

“What if you...you know...don't come back?” She asks.

“I'll come back.” He replies. “I always do.”

“Doesn't answer my question.” She replies.

He sighs, putting the rifle on his back.

“Tell him his mommy and daddy loved him very much. Call the number I have hidden under the alarm clock and take him in. You'll love him. He's a great kid.” Jack replies sadly, tapping a button on the side of his helmet and pulling up a phone emulator. “Don't hide it from him. Tell him we both died, but only if it's confirmed. I'll haunt you until you do.”

“Got it.” She says.

“The key to the gun vault is hidden in my service uniform. The khaki one.” He tells her. “Call Tim if you need anything to eat or drink. Don't get drunk while Franklin's awake. Keep him away from the guns. If anyone comes by and asks what's going on, just say Roanoke and tell them I'm off fighting.”

“Why Roanoke?” She asks.

“Roanoke is the code word we agreed on in case someone was holding my wife and kid hostage while I was gone. It's an all clear word to keep them from busting down the door.” He replies. “Remember it. Your life could depend on Roanoke. Also, don't go in the garage. The lock's broken, but the lock on my room is still intact. You do NOT go in that room. Got it?”

She swallows audibly and nods, Jack dialing the number before the suit taps into the cell phone towers.

“You ready?” He asks.

“Ready. Portal in the kitchen.” Jack replies.

“I'll brief you when you get here.” He replies, a portal opening in the kitchen before the call closes.

Jack steps forward, shotgun in hand as he makes his way to the portal, Ayn following him through as he arrives in a war room of sorts. Men are running around the room like chickens with their heads cut off, not paying the green clad man any mind as the portal closes behind the two of them. When a few of the soldiers and naval officers look up to see the man approaching, their ears fold back and their tails coil or go between their legs. When he makes it to the console Fluff was standing near, the bird man tenses up at the sight.

“D-did you have to-”

“Yes.” Jack interrupts. “Where was she taken?”

“Well, uh, she was taken around here.” He says, pointing to an area between 2 planets. “She could be at one of these three points right here.”

“Do you have any guess as to where I'm searching first?” Jack asks.

“Y-you? You're going alone?” He asks.

“It's how I roll. Don't like it, I can get your stupid Marine friend to do it for you.” Jack replies. “We both know he can't do it.”

“Right.” He says, rolling his eyes. “What do you need?”

“The stealthiest ship you've got and charges for breaching ship hulls.” Jack replies. “If I can't get the latter, I'll just cut a hole in the hull, but that'll take longer and ruin the element of surprise.”

“Uh, I think the Velkin will serve you well.” He says. “Do you want anything else?”

“I need to give Junior an update. She's been pestering me about it for the past year.” The super soldier replies.

“Alright, you have an unmonitored link to the Tower now.” He tells the man.

“And, done!” Junior says with a smile. “Whoa, lots of new features and personality traits. I can even shorten words down into smaller words! It's so much easier to form sentences!”

“No need to get excited, Junior. I'd like my ear drums to stay intact.” Jack says, turning her volume down a bit. “Is the Velkin a one person ship?”

“It's got space for five people. You think I'd give you a ship for a rescue mission that only has one seat?” He asks, crossing his arms. “Do you know how to fly?”

“Do I know how to fly?” Jack asks with a laugh.

“Right, stupid question.” He replies with a chuckle of his own. “Let's get you inside that ship. I'll upload the coordinates of her possible locations to the ship's navicomp once you're inside.”

The green armored man nods before Fluff's eyes go wide, a loud thunderclap sounding through the entire room as the shields on Jack's armor break. The man stands up straight and turns around slowly, seeing a man holding an arc caster, the weapon shaking as the shield generators spew electricity as they try to form a coherent shield around the man. Jack walks forward, only to get zapped by the arc caster again, but his EM shielding holds. When he reaches the man, he swipes the arc caster from the wolf, who yelps at the suddenness of the movement. He looks the weapon over, the markings of a brand he couldn't translate being present and worn away from use.

“Don't shoot me again, please.” Jack says simply, ripping the battery from the caster and giving the discharged weapon back to the man.

“That was meant to disable EM resistant anthroids.” He says, dropping the rifle once he gets it back.

“Lucky me.” Jack tells him. “Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair shortly.”

The wolf just nods, stepping aside as the faux-spartan steps over the discharged weapon.

4 hours later

The ship exits warp for the final time as the cloaking devices engage, rendering the ship completely invisible to all but the electronic warfare ship's all seeing eyes. Communications were completely cut as the engines are powered down to cruise, a large cluster of ships being present in front of the super soldier. He takes stock of his situation, seeing that Vikna probably wouldn't be held on just any ship. He'd have to go for one of the bigger ships, like the battle cruiser. They likely have one of the highest ranking officers in the battle group, as well as being the most likely place Vikna would be held.

“Junior, what's the blindest point on a battle cruiser?” Jack asks.

“Marking blind spots.” She replies, various points and lanes on the cruiser being highlighted before only 2 remain. “You can choose to park alongside the battle cruiser and set up a breaching charge, or you can open the emergency air lock and go in that way. There's no real way we're sneaking in with this many eyes and sensors.”

“Would a single man be able to slip through their sensor screens?” The man asks.

“Well, if I shaped the shields into a radar deflecting pattern, you might just be able to pass yourself off as space debris.” She replies. “I wouldn't recommend it, since the oxygen in your suit would be cutting it very close.”

“What if we played it off as us having a damaged ship?” He asks. “We could board them that way.”

“The hangar is about as far away from the bridge as it can get, being at the front of the ship.” She replies. “That's a no go.”

“Wait, I have the coolest idea!” Jack says, grinning from ear to ear. “I saw this in a video game once!”

“Oh boy, here we go.” She says, the avatar in the top right rolling her eyes. “What's this grand plan of yours going to entail?”

“How large are the windows on the battle cruiser?” He asks.

“Are you joking?” She asks.

“How large?” The man repeats.

“Well, I regret to inform you that they're large enough for someone like you to...bash your way through. However, the windows are thankfully too thick for someone to bash through, even someone as large as you.” She says with a grateful smile. “So that plan's a no go.”

Jack only responds by loading up a grenade into the launcher, ARA sighing.

“I guess we're doing this.” She says with obvious disapproval.

“Minimum amount of casualties necessary to get the information we need.” He says, making his way to the back of the ship. “Are the shields ready?”

“Yeah, they're ready.” She says, less than enthusiastic about his plan. “I'll help you navigate around their more intensive radar sweeps.”

“Thanks, Junior.” He says, depressurizing the cabin before opening the door.

He feels the thrusters on his back pop out, giving a few quick test bursts before he hops out of the nearly invisible shuttle, ARA marking the point on his HUD before turning it off. He turns himself around and thrusts around the shuttle, making his way to the ship as he hums a song to himself.

45 minutes later

Jack uses the thrusters to stop him on the bow of the ship, looking down the massive length of the ship in front of him. He checks his rifle, flicking it to full auto before looking at the heat of his thrusters, seeing that he was cool enough for one more burst before he'd have to let them cool for a while. The auxiliary thrusters were still plenty cool, allowing him to maneuver as much as he needed.

“You ready for this, ARA?” He asks, gripping the rifle as he eyes the target, the massive glass window of the bridge.

“Ready as I'll ever be.” She says, taking a deep, virtual breath. “Go on ahead whenever you're ready. I'll optimize your data transfer rates for minimum latency.”

“Thanks.” He says, letting the main thrusters pop out of his back.

“Just be ready. As soon as you start thrusting toward the bridge, you'll start moving fast enough for the collision warning system to track you.” She warns him.

“Got it.” He says, taking a deep breath of his own. “Let's go.”

He feels the thrusters fire up, accelerating slowly at first before they give him a good kick in the body suit. His speed steadily increases as he sees multiple warnings pop up on his visor, warning him of radar locks as guns turn to get a bead on him.

“They're targeting you!” She yells. “We're compromised!”

He sees one of the CIWS guns fire and maneuvers off to the side violently, doing an accidental flip as he steadies himself with Junior's assistance. He still wasn't very good at maneuvering the suit in zero G, but then again, neither was Junior. He feels his leg get struck by something massive, bending his knee as his shields flare violently.

“This was the best plan you had?!” She asks, angry that he'd do something so stupid.

“Shut up and let me fly!” Jack yells back in reply, maneuvering himself out of the way of another barrage of CIWS fire. “How close are we?!”

“One hundred meters away and counting!” She yells back. “We're not gonna make it!”

“We'll make it!” He yells, pulling out his rifle and taking aim at the window.

He pulls the trigger as the thrusters close on his back, having finally overheated as he begins peppering the window with some bullshit proprietary cartridge. The round counter on his helmet reads zero and he tosses the magazine aside, taking aim with the grenade launcher and firing a grenade at the window. The thoroughly spider-webbed glass is already buckling under the stress of the air pressure inside, Jack slapping a magazine in just in time to brace himself for impact. The glass shatters on impact, the man putting himself upright as his frontal thrusters thrust at full power, braking him just before he slams into the captain's chair. He racks the bolt and looks around, seeing many confused and frantic faces on the bridge, which he takes aim at immediately. The green monstrosity begins firing on the men with guns, putting 2 shots into each of the people and turning their inner workings into outer workings. When anyone who was a threat to him is pacified, he turns his attention to the captain, who's still in shock at the level of violence he just witnessed. When the air stops rushing out of the bridge, a large hiss is heard and the ventilation inside the suit he was wearing opens up.

“Where is she?” The green man asks, making his way to the captain as everyone else is too shocked to move. “The Kirov that was captured?”

“W-what?” He asks, still in shock.

He grabs the raccoon from his seat and throws him across the bridge, the man slamming into the blast shield that was now covering the broken window.

“Vikna Ramenskaya. Where is she?” He asks, making his way over to the captain.

“T-that bitch?” He asks, trying to get himself off the floor before coughing. “S-she's not here.”

“T-the jolly green giant? Here?!” A crew member manages to sputter out.

“WHERE IS SHE?!” The super soldier asks.

“Y-you'll never get me to-”

He grabs the raccoon off the deck and raises him up by his neck, putting the rifle on his back and putting his right hand into a fist. He raises the fist up to the raccoon's balls and his eyes go wide, shaking his head.

“N-no! Please! Anything but that! I-I'll tell you everything! Please, just don't do that!” He yells.

“Then speak.” The man tells the raccoon.

“S-she's being held on the prison deck!” He yells. “B-but, you'll never make it! There's too many of us and only one of you!”

“If you don't give the order to stand down right now, I'll rip off your balls and feed them to you.” The man tells him, taking a hold of his groin.

“F-fine, but I won't be able to tell the other ships to stand down!” He yells out. “Everybody stand down and let this...thing pass.”

The green clad man lets the captain go as he clutches at his throat, taking a deep breath.

“You have a choice, captain. You warp out of here and surrender your vessel to Katric, or you die in battle against a planet you swore to protect. Who are you more scared of right now? Bhainen, or an entire naval force with four Rooks behind them?” He asks. “Including the one whose daughter you just captured.”

“O-oh fuck...” He says.

The green clad man doesn't bother with any more talk, making his way to the bridge door as it opens up. Men are standing at the door with guns slung over their shoulders, their eyes going wide when they see who's coming out the door.

“F-fuck that.” One of them says. “Good thing the captain has some common sense.”

The man nods, continuing to make his way to the brig.

1 hour of walking later

The man is stopped in front of the door, the prison guard sitting at his table, ram-rod straight while Jack stands at the door of the first locked cell.

“Who's in these cells?” The super soldier asks.

“A few traitors and a girl we captured. Why?” He asks.

“Where's the girl?” The man asks.

“C-cell fifteen.” The feline stutters. “There's a Tau blocker in there, so she shouldn't be t-too much trouble. Y-you can do with her what you want. I-I've already...nevermind.”

“I'm taking her and the other prisoners with me.” The man tells the frightened feline. “Any objections.”

“W-well-”

The man pulls a shotgun off his back and racks the pump.

“I said, any objections?” Jack asks.

“N-no, sir!” The feline replies, opening the cell. “T-take her!”

Jack makes his way over to the cell that just opened, Vikna laying down on a cot, face down as she covers her ass with her tail.

“P-please...stop.” She says. “N-no more. I-I'm married...”

“Come on, we're leaving.” The man says, gripping the shotgun tight.

She immediately raises her head up to see her man clad in that green armor he always wore when he wasn't fucking around. She feels tears of regret and shame fall from her eyes all at once, covering her face as she can't face him right now.

“What happened?” He asks.

“T-the guard.” She manages to get out before pointing to her crotch, shaking a bit as Jack backs out of the cell.

He makes his way over to the guard with a frightening quickness, the feline's ears going flat as he is rushed by the super soldier. When the man is right on top of him, he stops, pushing the man down from his chair. The feline cries with fear as the super soldier pins him down, holding the shotgun to one of his arms.

“Did you breed her?” The absolutely livid husband asks.

“N-no! I didn't even stick it in!” He yells. “I-it wasn't rape!”

“He's lying!” One of the men from one of the cells yells back out. “She was crying out for help and some dude to save her!”

The faux-spartan looks back down at the man, his malicious intent burning through the silvery visor.

“I'll make sure you never breed again.” The armored up man says, pointing the shotgun at the feline's crotch. “You'll be lucky to fuck again with a prosthetic dick.”

“BUT I DIDN'T-”

Jack pulls the trigger, blasting the feline's junk away in one, massive spray of pellets. The feline continues to scream and screech in pain, the man getting off him as he racks the shotgun's pump. When he gets up and makes his way to the console, he opens all the cells up, a couple prisoners getting out of the cell as a shot rings out behind the man. His shields deplete by about a quarter, Jack looking back to see the man had fired a taser at him in defiance. The super soldier rips the device from his feeble hands, pointing it back at the man and pulling the trigger. The feline screams for a few seconds before passing out, bleeding out of the new hole in his crotch where his dick used to be.

“Fucking brutal, man.” A snow leopard tells him.

“That creep deserved what was coming to him.” A golden retriever adds. “I hope he bleeds out.”

A few men come around the corner, looking over at the prisoners and back to the super soldier behind the desk. They see the blood coming from behind the desk and he points a shotgun at them. They shake their heads and chuckle.

“We're with you on this one, jolly green.” They tell him. “Dude was a rapist.”

He nods and puts the shotgun on his back, making his way back to Vikna's cell. She was now laying on the floor, trying to get off the ground before hitting her muzzle on the surface. He grabs her off the ground, holding her in a bridal carry as he carries her out of the room.

“I-I'm so sorry.” She says.

“Not right now.” He says. “Let's get out of here first. Junior, where's our extract?”

“Maintenance airlock is just down the hall and to the right.” She replies. “Poorly positioned, if you ask me.”

“You two, you're with me. We're getting you out of here.” He tells the 2 prisoners. “Get to the airlock and put on some space suits.”

“Roger that, let's run like hell.” The leopard says, running alongside the canine.

The super soldier takes it a bit more slow, Vikna pulling her arms around the back of his neck as she begins to purr.

“I didn't think you'd come.” She says.

“I'm lucky I guessed right.” He tells her. “I knew they'd take you to the biggest battle cluster on the biggest ship.”

“How'd you get past everyone?” She asks.

“Wait until we're off the boat and I'll tell you.” He says, a smile concealed beneath his helmet.

Vikna seems to know he was smiling anyway, returning the gesture with glee as she nuzzles against his helmet, a small electric feeling coming over her as the shield runs over her. When he makes it to the airlock, Vikna points to the ground and he nods, allowing her to get on the ground as he turns toward the door.

“Once you're suited up, follow me as closely as you can.” He says, the men who came in to check on the gunshots nodding before walking off. “I'll follow a path Junior has laid out for us.”

“Alright, I'm suited up.” The leopard says.

“Same here.” The canine adds.

“I'm good to go.” Vikna tells the man. “We're all good.

He nods and presses the airlock cycle button, the door closing and cycling as Jack turns around. When he does, he sees possibly the most adorable thing he's ever seen Vikna wear.

“Oh my god, is that a little pocket for your tail?!” He asks with a giddy smile on his face. “It's so cute!”

“Some night terror he is.” The leopard quips.

“S-stop it...” She says, the tail piece flexing a bit as she tries to pull her tail around herself.

He nods and the airlock opens into the vacuum of space, the waypoint for the ship coming up as Jack steps out of the airlock. His thrusters engage and a path is laid out on his HUD, the prisoners following him out of the airlock as he begins maneuvering on the path.

45 minutes later

He reaches the ship and finishes slowing down, the other ships having not noticed him the entire time thanks to the path ARA had laid out. She really was becoming less of an ARA and more of an all purpose AI. The rear of the Velkin opens up, Jack being the first to enter as he guides everyone inside. When they're all inside, the door closes behind them and the cabin pressurizes. Everyone takes off their helmets as Jack does the same, the others looking on in anticipation. When he lifts the helmet off his head, the canine is stunned while the snow leopard has a smug look on his face.

“I told you Geu, I told you he was the Gunny!” The leopard says with a fist pump.

As Jack is about to chuckle, Vikna jumps up to him and plants her lips on his, giving him a sloppy kiss as she tries to suck his face off lips-first. She moans into his mouth as he takes her up front, making his way into the cockpit with his feline wife firmly grasping his neck. The door shuts behind them and he lets her down on the floor, her breaking the kiss before realizing what she did all that time ago.

“I...I know what I said was wrong-”

“What did that man do to you?” He asks, cutting her off.

“He...well...he tried to rape me.” She replies. “I was hoping you would at least give me a little bit of time before asking. What did you do to him?”

“I blew his cock and balls off with an eight gauge shell.” Jack replies. “Why did you want to wait to tell me?”

“I don't know how to say it...” She says, Jack inserting the AI chip into the universal slot on the ship. “I...”

“You liked it more than you liked when we did it?” He asks.

“What? No.” She replies. “He didn't even stick it in. It's just...he smelled so good. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted him to...give me a litter of kittens. I don't know if it was pheromones or-”

“It's okay. Pheromones are weird and I know how much anthros rely on them.” He interrupts, putting a finger on her lips. “Let's get out of here before we're found out. Strap yourself in.”

She nods and gets in the secondary seat beside the pilot's seat, Jack powering up the FTL drive before turning the ship around. When the FTL drive is completely powered up, he jumps back onto the FTL path toward the Tower, letting the autopilot handle the rest of the journey.

“Jack, you know I still love you, right?” She asks. “I was just angry.”

“You told me what I needed to hear.” He replies. “I'm bad at reading people. It's just the way I am.”

“No, I was expecting you to know what to do. It's my fault, honestly.” She says, laying her head on his armored shoulder as a soft tingle flows around her. “I should've been more patient.”

“Hey, really, it's fine.” He tells her. “When we get home, I'll make you something to eat. Something really nice.”

“Okay.” Is all she says before purring gently into his shoulder, falling asleep as the craft continued to travel through FTL.

2 hours later

The craft lurches to a stop right outside the Tower, Jack putting his helmet back on as Vikna wakes up with a yawn.

“This is Telphon seven one moving to docking bay twenty six. How copy?” He asks, the artificial voice of the suit announces.

“Roger Telphon, follow the path in and we'll get you docked.” A happy sounding Vale replies. “We detect four life forms aboard your ship. Are you carrying any stowaways?”

“No, we have a couple of prisoners from aboard one of the traitor ships as well. Get somebody ready to debrief them.” He says, letting the autopilot guide the shuttle into the correct course.

He grabs the AI chip from the slot and sets it back inside his helmet, the smiling face of ARA greeting him as he ruffles Vikna's long and unkempt hair.

“Are we there yet?” She asks groggily.

“Almost.” He replies, pulling her into as gentle of a hug as he could manage. “We'll be back home soon.”

She nuzzles herself into the crook of his neck and begins purring, enjoying any kind of embrace after being cooped up for so long inside that brig. After being held for a little while, a small thump causes Jack to let go of her, the ship powering down as loud, mechanical whirring overtook the cockpit. The whirring ends with a loud thunk, shaking the craft as it comes to rest on its landing gear. When everything went silent, Jack gets up, Vikna following shortly after as he opens the door to the rear of the shuttle. After it opens fully, Jack is greeted to the leopard happily burying himself into the nethers of the canine, both of them seemingly unaware of his presence. Vikna blushes deep red as Jack is glad to have the helmet on right now, knocking on the hull of the ship as the two of them stop dead in their tracks. The canine named Geu looks up at him, blushing like mad as the snow leopard does too.

“C-can we have five more minutes?” Geu asks. “P-please?”

“Whatever.” He says. “I'll tell them to wait a while.”

She gives him a thankful look and the snow leopard immediately goes back to thrusting hard, earning a squeak from the now panting dog. The side door opens up and a team is about to enter when Jack stops them, shaking his head as Vikna and him step out of the ship.

“Give them an hour.” He says. “They've probably been cooped up for a few months.”

“F-fuck!” Geu yells out, confirming his statement as the security team stands down.

“Alright, we'll give them an hour before we come knocking.” Their leader says before pulling back.

The door to the ship closes as Jack and Vikna both make their way back to war room.

15 minutes later

Jack makes his way up to the house, Vikna in tow as she nuzzles his shoulder gently.

“When we get inside, I'm going to milk you like a cow.” She says with a sultry grin.

“Not before I turn your brains to mush from eating you out.” He says, kissing her on the top of the head before making it up to the door.

He knocks on the door and the sound of pattering feet comes from inside.

“No, Franklin!” Kaya yells after him before he opens the door.

“MOMMY!” The little kitten yells, jumping up to meet his mother.

“Oh my god, Franklin!” She says, pulling him into a hug as Kaya looks back up at the man.

“You're back already?” Kaya asks.

“You should've seen it Kaya. It was awesome. I shot out a ship window and crashed through it.” He replies with a smile.

“Oh, well, I just made way too many omelets. You can help yourselves.” She says with a joyful smile.

“Oh, wait, is she that slut you drew?” Vikna asks.

“You're gonna have to specify which one.” Jack replies with a cheeky grin.

“Mommy said a bad word.” Franklin says.

“Go upstairs and play your games.” Vikna orders, Franklin darting back upstairs on all fours before running the rest of the way on 2 legs. “You know the one I mean. The slutty fox that's totally not just Ayn.”

“You mean Uio? No, this is Kaya. Uioi's a fox” He replies. “Kaya's the one I do the comic with.”

“So, your kitty slut?” She asks with a smirk.

“Does it count as being a slut if I've only had sex with five other men?” She asks.

“Choose your next words carefully, Vikna.” Jack teases.

“Jack!” She yells, punching his arm with considerable force.

“It's okay. I don't really mind either way.” Kaya tells her with a smile. “Uio on the other hand...fuck her. Stupid bitch can rot.”

“Oh, a rivalry?” Vikna asks, giving him a knowing look.

“I...uh...I'm not very original.” He says, a look of defeat on his face.

“Yeah, Uio got dumped before I arrived in the Rishan.” Kaya replies. “She nearly gave me AIDS when she roped me into a sex game.”

“Christ, I didn't know it was that bad.” Jack says, stepping inside the house with Vikna in tow.

“Oh, it's not your fault. You can't control every single aspect of what's going on.” She says. “What I'd like to talk about is how you got so good that you were in and out in less than a day.”

“Lots and lots of training and experience with my suit.” He replies. “Also, stupid shit that shouldn't work actually working.”

As he says that, his phone begins vibrating, alerting him to a text being sent to him. When he looks down at his phone, he sees his mother had just texted him.

“Who's that?” Vikna asks.

“My mom wants me to come back to Michigan.” He replies. “She wants to see her grand kid. Kelly said she turned over a new leaf and wants to apologize too.”

“Are you sure?” She asks. “Your mother was pretty angry when we left them to live in that apartment.”

“I'd feel bad if she never got to meet her grandson.” He replies. “Franklin will be asking a lot of questions.”

“Should we be taking him on a trip so soon after we came back home?” She asks. “I kind of wanted to settle down for a bit and get back into the routine.”

“Don't have to do it right now. How about next month? We can go out after Christmas if that's better for you.” He replies. “How long has it been since you've had a shower?”

“Are you saying I smell?” She asks, giving him an annoyed frown.

“Your hair is frizzled. It only does that if you haven't showered in a week.” He replies. “Besides, the only thing you smell like is peppermint.”

“All because of you~.” She says, pecking him on the cheek before licking him as she pulls away. “When I'm done eating, your friend here can take Franklin outside for, let's say a few hours.”

“Certainly.” She says with a smile.

With that, Jack and Vikna make their way into the kitchen.

2 weeks later

Jack gets off the UTV he was riding, wiping his nose gently as he makes his way back to the water trailer. As he makes his way back to the hose, he goes into a coughing fit for the third time today. He takes a knee, careful to miss the horse shit right by his leg as he holds the trailer for support. After his violent coughing fit subsides, he gets up off the ground, feeling much more feeble than he's felt in a long time. He barely has enough strength to lift the admittedly heavy hose, dragging it over to the horse's troughs before opening the hose up. The horses look on in mild indifference, not being sapient in any way. He looks over at the horses before feeling something rising up in his throat, his eyes going wide before he vomits onto the ground. The horses that were walking up for a drink back up a bit with hesitation, the man sending even more disgusting bodily fluids into the ground.

“Ack, fuck.” He says, having hoped it wasn't anything bad.

If this gets any worse, he might drop in the field before he can even call Vikna. With that thought, another wave of vomit ejects itself from his body, the man closing his eyes in disgust as he grabs a tissue from inside his flannel shirt. He wipes his mouth off and looks up at the horses, who are impatiently stamping their hooves against the ground.

“The fuck do you want me to do about it?” He asks, looking back at the hose before looking back at the horses. “You want me to clean up this mess?”

The horses give no indication of having understood him and he groans, grabbing the hose from the now overflowing trough and washing the vomit away in a torrent of water. The horses seem pleased by this, now approaching the trough as he shuts off the water. He shakes his head as he drags the hose back to the trailer, wrapping it around the hose holder before making his way over to the UTV. He starts the vehicle up, putting it in drive and turning around. This was going to be a long drive back.

30 minutes later

Jack finally stops the UTV, not bothering to detach the water trailer as he sees Vikna watching Franklin play in the yard. He puts the toy gun down and cocks his head at his dad being home early, the man nearly slipping on the vomit inside the UTV as he makes his way back to the trailer. He undoes the hose and Vikna is already on her way toward the Gator, seeing the nasty mess before her.

“Oh god, are you okay?” She asks.

“I'm sick as a dog.” He replies, taking the smaller hose on the trailer back to the Gator and spraying it down. “I'll go lay down with a bucket for a while.”

“Do you have any idea what it could be?” She asks, watching him spray the sick away from the floor of the Gator.

“Maybe flu or something. I'm just gonna-HRK.” He replies, covering his mouth as the feline steps back.

He drops the hoses and dashes off into the house, leaving the 2 confused felines outside.

3 hours later

Vikna sighs, sitting down beside her sleeping mate as she cleans her pistol out with a brush and some oil while Jack snores away. She still felt bad for leaving him alone with Franklin, but she felt so good after letting some of it out, even if it was just a bit.

“How is he?” Kaya asks, popping her head into the room.

“He's doing fine.” Vikna replies, running her hand over his fever ridden forehead. “He's on fire, but he's stopped throwing up.”

Kaya looks down at the bucket on the ground and sniffs the air, scrunching her nose at the smell.

“You get used to it.” She says with a tired smile.

Vikna gets off the bed and stretches herself out, groaning as she runs her tail around herself. Kaya leaves the room and Vikna follows her out, giving one final glance to her man before heading out, making her way downstairs and into the living room. When Kaya sits down on the couch, Vikna follows, sitting down beside her as she turns the TV on for background noise.

“I didn't know how hard he worked.” Kaya says. “I've been watching him every day and he just works and works without any breaks. I think he's earned himself a few days off, even if he'll be sick during it all.”

“He used to be a lot more laid back.” Vikna tells her. “I guess he's been working this hard ever since I left, huh?”

“I was barely able to do one day, and that was with the exo.” Kaya replies.

“You got that thing to fit you?” She asks.

“Well, yeah. It was pretty simple to adjust. Just had to undo a few bolts and all the straps fit me just fine.” Kaya replies. “Then again, I did have to replace the limbs with shorter versions...and the main body...and the servos...I made a new exo.”

“I never took you for the mechanically inclined type.” She says with a smirk.

“Is it because of my body?” Kaya asks.

“You're fucking smoking.” Vikna says. “You could lift your skirt a little and get into any profession you wanted.”

“Well, how do you think I stole a time machine~?” Kaya asks, biting her lower lip. “Second person I ever did it with. He passed out after a few minutes and I yoinked that ship.”

“God, what was he thinking when he made you?” Vikna asks, scooting away.

“I'm the product of a sexually repressed virgin...sort of. He thought he was a virgin and that was enough.” Kaya replies happily. “Back then I was just a character on a page. Then I got drawn out for the first time back in, uh, 2021 I think it was. He started a comic with me and another man. He stayed with me ever since and I crashed on Siania a couple jumps later.”

“Was anyone with you during the crash?” Vikna asks, curious about her circumstances now.

“Yeah, Phil was with me.” She replies. “Ayn found me out in the desert while she was running from her parents. She gave me some money and a job recommendation before...well...everything went to shit. I hid away in my ship and blasted away anyone who tried to come close. The area around my ship became a thirty mile dead zone. Anyone who tried to get close or tried to bombard me from orbit was taken out completely.”

“What kind of time machine did you steal?” Vikna asks with mild surprise.

“Military base. I was a contractor for Ajina Corp.” She replies. “We make exoskeletons of all kinds, kind of like that one in the garage and the one Jack has, except it's not nearly as good and much safer to operate.”

“No need for a sales pitch.” Vikna tells her. “Continue, please.”

“I wanted to go out and check on the destruction I wrought, but something inside my head told me no. I'd never allow myself to go outside, staying occupied by playing video games and maintaining the ship as best I could.” Kaya says. “Then, I saw friendly IFFs pop up on the horizon that were ID'd as tanks from Earth. I've been to Earth before, in a different universe of course, so the ship knew that the tanks that were coming weren't a threat. Of course, Phil pointed out they were American, so I told the plasma caster to hold fire. Ayn found me a few days later and here I am!”

“Are you sure you didn't see anything?” Vikna asks. “Anything at all?”

“Nope, I just stayed in my ship until all the fighting blew over.” She says. “Samuel was great to talk to. He's the ship's AI.”

“Is he sentient?” Vikna asks. “You need to register that with an Empire official in case the AI goes rogue.”

“He's sentient, but there's a ton of blocks in place to prevent any rogue behavior from going on. Besides, he's not connected with anyone and he's just a shipboard AI with no ability to transfer out of the ship without a hardware connection. What's he going to do? Scream everyone to death?” Kaya asks in return.

“Well, if you say so.” The icy blue haired feline replies. “I never really asked before, but why are you still here?”

“I got that bird guy to put my ship in a field to the east.” She replies. “You're both stuck with me for now while Phil tries to repair the ship!”

“Is he okay with sitting in the ship?” Vikna asks.

“He's very shy. I think he said he'll use one of the cabins if the cold gets too bad.” She replies.

After she finishes, a knock comes from the door, Vikna getting up to respond to it. When she makes it to the door, she opens it to find a very tired looking man in a brown uniform, “UPS” embroidered into a shield on his uniform. He holds up a package and gives a weak smile.

“Delivery for Jackson.” The man says.

She nods and takes the package, the man holding out a little device that she had to sign with.

“Huh, didn't think I'd see you here.” He says, smiling before taking the device back. “Small world. Later, Blue.”

Vikna would've gone white as a ghost if she didn't have a coat of fur already on top of her skin. He turns around and makes his way back to the massive brown truck, hopping up each step with a bit of pep as he closes the door behind him. The truck rumbles to life and quickly pulls out of the driveway, going down the hilly, asphalt lined road before disappearing on the other side. Vikna closes the door with a slam, no longer feeling like talking. She makes her way up the stairs as Kaya looks on with worry, Vikna's ears flattening and her tail curling around her body. She looks at the package more to keep her eyes away from Kaya than to make sure it came to the right address, which it definitely did. As she makes her way upstairs, she enters the bedroom, seeing Jack sitting in the bed with a bottle of water and looking completely burnt out. When she enters the room with the package, he smiles warmly until he sees the look she has on her face.

“What's wrong?” He asks, her ears folding back even further.

“Do...do I matter?” She asks. “Do I have purpose?”

“What?” He asks, still a bit dazed.

“Am I really destined to do anything with my life?” She asks. “Do I matter at all? Am...am I just a walking, talking, breathing pair of tits?”

“Where is all this coming from?” He asks, a bit more alert now, setting the water down on the nightstand.

“I...” She says, a tear falling down to the box as she tries her hardest to complete the sentence.

“Come here.” He tells her gently, waving for him to come closer.

She listens, walking over to him as he lifts the box from her now quivering hands. He pulls her toward him, lifting her onto the bed as he rests her head under his chin, rubbing cheek with his hands as she relaxes into him.

“You're the most special person in the world.” He tells her, planting a kiss on her hair. “Stop thinking that you're nothing but a pair of tits. You undertook the greatest operations in the entire galaxy in the last thousand years. You're the only woman to ever win a first class Order of the Emperor in the history of ever! How could you think that you're not the most special woman in the entire world?”

“Well-”

“No, stop that.” He says, covering her mouth before she can speak. “You know you're not just a sexual object. We've been over this.”

She tries to speak, but eventually melts into his gentle touches, the man rubbing her shoulder gently as she begins licking his hand. He smiles and sticks a finger in her mouth, feeling her begin sucking on it, running her tongue along the digit as she swirls it around. She begins purring, bobbing her head back and forth gently as she moans into his finger. He pulls it out just as quickly as he put it in, making her whine a bit.

“I'm still sick.” He tells her. “Speaking of the box, I want you to open up that package. It's for you.”

“For me?” She asks. “My birthday isn't until April.”

“It's an early Christmas gift.” He tells her.

“You spoil me too much.” She says with a girlish giggle. “Let's see what it is.”

She opens the package up with one of her claws, ripping the tape off before opening the package, seeing a large, roughly cut metallic heart in the bottom. It reads “Forever yours” in Katrician on top, Jack's full name and an engraving of her fleet's insignia on the bottom. The metal seems very familiar, but she can't quite pin it down.

“I, uh, came across a piece of your old ship when I had to stop and let the FTL system gather energy.” He says. “I stopped and cut out a piece of the hull for you. Had it stenciled by one of the best engravers in the entire country. The metal you use in your hulls is really tough to engrave.”

“Well, it's a titanium bi-composite metal that's supposed to reflect lasers and deflect rounds.” She says. “You didn't have to do this.”

“But I did.” He tells her with a smirk, pulling her towards him and planting a kiss on her lips. “You're my favorite person in the whole wide world. The whole galaxy, even. Check inside again. There's another present in there.”

He releases her from his grasp, Vikna taking a look inside the box and cocking her head, pulling out a small frame before turning it on. When she does, she lets out a gasp, her tail wrapping around her. It was a picture of her and her parents.

“I...I thought I lost it...” She says, hugging the hard light projection of her parents before turning back to him. “Thank you.”

He nods, allowing her to crawl back into his embrace as she sets the hard light projection back on the nightstand.

“Anything for the most special person in the world.” He tells her with a loving smile, running his hands through her hair gently as she begins to purr.

“You know I have to pay you back, right?” She asks with a mischievous grin.

“Not right now.” He says, holding her close before yawning. “Now, we sleep.”

With that, he falls asleep, leaving Vikna in an awkward embrace that she doesn't really want to commit to, but feels obliged to. She sighs, twisting herself out of his grasp and replacing herself with her own pillow. He could use that as a substitute for now. She had things to do today. When she gets up, she takes the metallic heart from the bed, holding it close to her own before setting it down on her nightstand. She gets up, looking back at him sleeping soundly with the pillow in his arms. She walks back toward the door, flashing him a smile before walking back downstairs.

1 month later

Jack makes his way up the porch, snow crunching under his feet as he holds a lever action in one hand and a big bundle of wood in the other. He stomps his feet on the welcome mat, the snow removing itself from the treads of his boots before he opens the door. A small amount of heat graces his snow caked face, a blizzard raging behind him as he steps inside his house. He sets the gun down and makes his way into the living room, Vikna, Kaya, and Franklin all cuddled up under a blanket. He walks over to the fireplace and sets a couple logs inside the fireplace, putting the rest of them down on the brick shelf surrounding it. He grabs some newspaper and twigs from a crate beside the fire, grabbing a lighter and lighting it. He sets the lit newspaper and twigs inside the fireplace, waiting for the logs to light before opening the flume a bit to let the smoke vent. When the process is finished and the fire is roaring, he turns around and smiles, turning the fan on as it begins blowing warm air toward the couch.

“We could've just turned on the central heater.” Vikna says, rolling her eyes.

“Where's the fun in that?” He asks with a chuckle. “The house should warm up in about an hour. This fireplace is amazing.”

“Yeah, good thing we sold the cattle off a few days ago. Now they won't all freeze to death.” Vikna says, looking back outside. “Hope the horses make it.”

“I've never seen snow this bad on a planet that wasn't known for it before.” Kaya says, pulling the blanket off her and getting up. “Thank you for letting me in. The cabins don't have very good insulation and my ship doesn't really have environmental control systems that work right now.”

“I keep telling you that we always have a room open for you in the house.” He tells her. “Besides, it's Christmas eve. Nobody deserves to be alone on Christmas eve. Vikna, how are the plans for Christmas coming along?”

“Well, one of the furnished barns has been turned into a big dining hall. Tim and Jimmy are coming, as well as Halbert and Phil.” She says. “Zofie is going to be coming later today to help with the food preparations tomorrow. Speaking of, did you get those turkeys I asked you to get?”

“Yeah, they're in the freezer.” Jack replies.

“Alright. ARA is coming, so I've basically reserved a whole turkey for her and the other AI so they won't eat half of everything on the table. Vale is coming too, since he wants to try some of Zofie's cooking.” Vikna says. “Nytro said it's a fifty/fifty on whether or not he's coming, but Rei is definitely a no-go.”

“As always.” Jack says. “It's fine, I didn't plan on him coming anyway.”

“Uh, my dad said he'd come. Same with Ayn. Loki said he wanted to come and I wanted to hear what you had to say before coming to a decision.” She tells him.

“Let him come, the guy hasn't seen me in over four years.” He tells her.

“Right, guess we'll be breaking out that mead too. Uh, who else was coming?” She asks, tapping her chin idly. “Twix said he was a no-go, Warning might be coming, but she's probably not going to eat much. Your Captain friend might be coming over as well.”

“I haven't seen him in almost four years. Wonder how he's been getting along.” Jack says.

“Oh, Velheim is coming as well. Zofie is making something special for him.” Vikna tells him. “That's about everyone, unless I'm missing somebody.”

“The barn's going to be packed.” He says.

“Yeah it will.” She says before laying back and sighing. “What I don't get is why Rei doesn't want to come. He was relocated to Montana, but he won't even make the drive to come have Christmas dinner with all the characters he created.”

“He's embarrassed.” Jack says. “Embarrassed of me and embarrassed to be around all of us. I'd be embarrassed if every character I created got together to have a Christmas dinner. The level of awkwardness would be palpable. It's a miracle he even agrees to orchestrate these things.”

Vikna nods and Jack notices Kaya is long gone, Vikna noticing it and pointing up the stairs. He nods and makes his way over to the couch, sitting down by her and pulling her into an embrace.

“Daddy, since it's Christmas eve, can I...” He says, hesitating as he looks over at the well decorated Christmas tree.

“Only one.” Jack says with a smile.

“Yay!” He yells excitedly, jumping off the couch as he pulls the blanket with him.

Vikna yelps a bit with surprise as the kitten runs over to the Christmas tree, grabbing one of the presents before bringing it back, the little guy sitting down in the middle of the floor.

“This one's from mommy.” He says, ripping open the package. “What are these?”

He pulls out a pair of mittens that are embroidered with various Katrician designs, Vikna having sewn together the mittens herself. He takes the two pieces of clothing and puts them on top of his ears, drawing a laugh from both his parents.

“Franklin, you put those on your hands, not your ears!” Vikna says before going into a giggle fit again.

He nods, putting the mittens over his hands and closing them a few times.

“Where are the fingers?” He asks.

“Mittens don't have fingers.” Vikna replies. “They're warmer than gloves.”

“Oh.” He says. “Thank you, mommy!”

“You're welcome, my little mitten kitten.” She says with a smile.

“Did you make him mittens just for that pun?” Jack asks, smiling back at her.

“What if I did?” Vikna asks with an innocent looking. “What's daddy going to do to me?”

“I'll show you after the party.” He says, his smile turning into a devious smirk.

He steals a kiss from Vikna, who yelps in surprise. Before she can get into it, he's already pulled back. When the two look back at Franklin, he has the mittens over his ears again, walking around with his arms outstretched and making monster noises. Both of them giggle at the display before grabbing the blanket off the ground, watching their son walk around around the living room with mittens on his ears.

1 day later

Jack is hurriedly making final preparations for the guests, having already been running the heater on full blast for over 3 hours now. The garage was barely able to keep any heat in that the heater generated, due to just how cold it was outside and how poorly insulated the garage was. The garage Jack had built would've been perfect for this, but it was full of equipment and vehicles that couldn't be moved in the nearly foot tall snow. Fluff had been kind enough to open up a portal for Tau to come through, allowing Vikna to clear a massive path in the snow with her magic. She even made a small tunnel of ice to keep the wind off of the food, which he thought was pretty ingenious. When the door opens to the garage, Vikna is the first one in, followed by Zofie and Kaya. They were all carrying at least 2 dishes, which Jack hurriedly takes before setting them on the table.

“I didn't think you'd live in such an expansive place.” Zofie says, Velheim coming in moments later with a couple turkeys. “I looked at the map of your ranch and it's massive!”

“America is known for their ranches, even in the modern day.” Velheim replies with a smirk, wearing his uniform. “If I ever moved to America, Montana would be my second choice after Texas.”

The turkeys are laid out along the table as Franklin makes his way into the garage, holding a container of mashed potatoes that's quickly picked up by Vikna.

“Well, that's most of the food.” Vikna says, a large gust of wind blowing against the side of the pole barn. “Are you sure this thing is going to hold?”

“Remember '27?” Jack asks. “It was much worse than this.”

“It also blew down one of the empty pole barns and broke the roof off of another.” She says. “You still haven't taken care of that empty pole barn.”

“I told you that I'll take care of it when we get the money from the butcher.” He says. “We're making a lot of money off the cattle and I'll be able to afford a tractor to clean up that mess.”

“But we already have one.” Vikna tells him with crossed arms.

“We can have this conversation later.” He says, not mentioning that a lawn tractor isn't the same as a dedicated work tractor. “How long until everyone arrives?”

“We have about twenty minutes before everyone arrives.” Zofie says, checking her phone before stuffing the device away.

“Alright, I'll be back.” Jack says, making his way to the door and stepping through.

He walks down the pathway Vikna had carved into the snow, an icy tunnel protecting him from the wind as he makes his way back toward the house. When he gets there, the large bag of presents he had ready for everyone was wrapped up and ready to go. He hoists it over his shoulder and makes his way back down the icy hallway, seeing the door at the end of the hallway was now closed. When he makes his way to it, he opens the door up, seeing a portal is open to an area inside the Tower. He sees Vikna put on the Christmas hat he gave her, ARA having put on an entire outfit while everyone else was wearing something festive. As he enters, he sets the bag down and puts on his fake Santa beard, setting the Christmas hat on top of his hat and lifting the bag again.

“Ho, ho, ho!” He yells out merrily. “Merry Christmas, friends!”

He grabs nearly everyone's attention with that stunt and they all give him some kind of joyful expression, be it a laugh or a simple smile. He sets the massive bag of gifts down and makes his way over to the crowd of people, Ayn being the first to greet him. She had a red and green dress on with fake antlers on her head, not even making it half way past her massive, all hearing ears.

“Sweetie, it's been way too long!” She says, pulling the man into a hug that nearly crushes him. “How have you been?”

“I'll...do a lot...better...if you...don't...crush me.” He says with quite a bit of difficulty.

“Oh, sorry!” She says with a laugh, letting him go. “If it makes you feel any better, I was giving it a lot of effort.”

“Lucky me.” He says, rubbing his chest. “We've got plenty of food for everyone. If you don't eat some, you can take it home with you.”

“Are you calling me fat, sweetie?” She asks with a mischievous grin.

“I'm just saying you can bring back food.” He replies with a smile. “Take it as you will.”

She chuckles and kisses his cheek, leaving him to tend to the next guest. Loki was next, a look of confusion being washed over by a look of recognition when he sees Jack. The massive man approaches, having donned a Santa hat like Jack had.

“My friend!” He says in his thundering voice, holding a hand out and pulling Jack into a man-hug. “I haven't seen you in ages!”

“Same here, Big L.” Jack says. “We made enough food to sate even the godliest of appetites.”

“I hope so. I haven't eaten all day and I'm starved.” He says, breaking the hug and slapping his stomach. “The princess has been surprisingly kind to me. At least, compared to what she was the last time we met.”

“I heard that!” She yells back, anger flaring momentarily.

“I better go apologize. I will...catch you later.” He says, rushing off and revealing someone he hasn't seen in a very VERY long time.

“Tilya?” Jack asks, the golden retriever turning around and smiling.

“Mister Haigs!” She says with a smile, making her way up to him and pulling him into a hug. “It's been too long!”

“I...uh...” He says, trying to think of what to say. “Um, you too.”

“Still as cute as ever!” She says with a smile, pulling him into a kiss.

He immediately pulls away, not wanting anything to do with that.

“Sorry Tilya, I can't do that.” He tells her. “I...uh...got married.”

“Oh...” She says, her tone deflating almost instantly. “I see...”

“Well, you're still welcome to stay.” He tells her. “Take a seat wherever and we'll start eating soon.”

She nods, making her way to a seat as her ears fold down further than is normal for her. When Jack turns back, he's face to face with Nytro, the man raising an eyebrow as he wears a green elf hat. Jack looks down and sees Warning attached to his hip, smiling with glee.

“Mister Nytro is this unit's helper!” Warning yells cheerfully.

“Don't say that so loud.” He tells her.

“This unit will make sure her teasing is worth your while, mister Nytro!” Warning replies in an even louder volume, causing Nytro to blush.

“I'll go take my seat.” He says, no longer looking at Jack as he drags Warning along.

With that, the only person left is Vale, who was waiting patiently behind Nytro.

“Hello there, mister Jackson.” The Avidae tells him. “Your daring raid to free Vikna and the prisoners from the Rivalio was an outstanding success. The ship warped in later and surrendered all hands.”

“That's good.” Jack says. “If you want to sit down, we'll start eating.”

He nods, making his way to the table as Jack looked down the table, seeing Vikna and Tilya had made a space between both of them. He smiles, making his way to her and Tilya before sitting down.

30 minutes later

Jack was sitting down at the table, talking to Loki as Nytro was talking with everyone on his side of the table. Vale had just eaten an entire turkey leg in one gulp, being surprised when it didn't taste as good as it looked. ARA corrected that quickly by offering him her turkey leg and taught him how to properly eat turkey. Ayn was talking to Vikna as Zofie distracts Loki, leaving Jack with nobody to talk to but Tilya.

“So, you got married?” She asks.

“Mmhmm.” He replies, taking a bite of the turkey on his plate. “Love of my life.”

“How's your leg doing?” She asks, pointing to the leg that had to be reattached.

“It's doing fine.” He replies, flexing the leg to emphasize it. “Thanks for asking.”

“So, why didn't you try to reconnect with me?” She asks.

“You said you wanted nothing to do with me.” He replies.

“I said I just wanted to be friends for a while.” She corrects. “I would've tried again if you waited.”

“I had other priorities.” He replies.

“Like what?” She asks.

“Vikna needed me.” He replies. “I needed her too.”

“So you got caught up with some other slut?” Tilya asks.

“Don't make a scene.” Jack replies, giving her a look.

“Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy here.” She tells him, now drawing the attention of Vikna. “I wanted to patch things up.”

“You didn't make it known.” He tells her. “I'm not keen on reading people.”

“What's going on?” Vikna asks, Jack turning to face her.

“Nothing, honey.” He replies, turning back to face Tilya.

“I made it abundantly clear that I wanted you.” She says.

“Uh, you're not doing this here.” Vikna says. “Stop while you're ahead.”

“Don't get involved, cum slut.” Tilya tells her, venom dripping from her words as she emphasizes 'cum slut'. “Do you know how many people he's sent to my ward?”

“You're about to step on a land mine, Tilyana.” Vikna says, more fearful than anything as Loki is now watching the scene unfold.

“How many people.” Tilya says.

“Oh god...” Loki says, drawing the attention of just about everyone at the table. “Don't do it.”

“How many people have you ended?” Tilya asks, the entire room going silent.

The question hangs in the air as Jack sits in the middle of the two women, fork hanging midair as he slowly closes his mouth. He takes a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, stuffing the piece of turkey into his mouth before it can get cold.

“Did you hear me?” She asks, grabbing his shoulder.

He immediately removes her hand from his shoulder and puts up an index finger, sticking the last of the turkey on his plate into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before giving her his full attention.

“I'm going to give you a chance to rephrase that.” He says, remembering what the therapist said about people not knowing any better.

“I apologize, maybe I wasn't clear enough.” She says, clearing her throat. “There have been so many people who came into my ward because of you, completely swamping my floor with people to take care of. Most of them had tried to gut me or rape me. So, I'll make myself a little more clear. How many people have you killed?”

Jack feels his eye twitch as everybody is silent again, Tilya giving him a deadly glare as he only stares back with a blank look on his face.

“I think it's time for you to go.” He says, voice wavering heavily as he stands up from his seat.

“I don't think I will until I get an answer.” She says, crossing her arms.

“Daddy says that nobody should ask soldiers how many people they killed.” Franklin interjects.

“I don't believe I asked for the opinion of a five year old.” She says.

Jack grabs her out of the chair, a surprised yelp coming from her as Zofie squeaks a bit in shock. He man handles Tilya out of the chair, the golden retriever kicking and screaming as she's taken back to the massive portal to the room inside the Tower. He makes his way over the boundary and throws her on the ground, the woman landing with a heavy thud as he turns around.

“You son of a bitch! You left me for that slutty little cat and you won't even give me a fucking chance! I bathed you every single fucking day and this is the thanks I get?!” She asks angrily, Jack walking back through the portal.

He hears her get up and begin running back toward him before he draws a pistol, pointing it directly at her face as she stops dead in her tracks.

“You take one more step and I'll blow your brains out.” He says, cocking the hammer back on his SIG. “Step back.”

The golden retriever backs away, hands up as Jack pulls out his phone. He calls a number on the phone and it picks up shortly after.

“Hello?” Fluff asks.

“Close the portal.” Jack replies. “Don't ask why, just close it.”

“Okay, closing it now.” He says, the portal slowly shrinking in size.

He keeps her in his sights until the portal closes completely, the man holstering his sidearm before making his way back to the table.

“Uh, the portal probably won't be ready for a while, considering how long it was up and how big it was, so, uh, I'll be in my house. You can all come and sit in the living room if you want.” He says awkwardly. “I'll have a fire going if you all...come in.”

“So, you just trapped us here?” Nytro asks.

“Shut up, Nytro.” Ayn says. “Not another word.”

The hybrid is about to say more, but she must give him a look Jack can't see, causing him to back down. Jack nods, grabbing the sack of things he was going to pass out at the table and making his way back toward the door. He just ruined Christmas for everyone.

2 hours later

Jack is sitting in his recliner, playing a guitar gently as the door to the house opens. Vikna is the first one inside, followed by Zofie and Velheim. All 3 of them take a seat on one of the couches, Loki and Ayn being next. She motions for him to sit on one of the recliners and he does, Nytro and the AI being the last ones inside. They all sit down in whatever seating is available, Jack continuing to play guitar as Vale is the last one to take a seat.

“This house is very cozy.” Loki remarks.

Jack lets the chord he just played hang for a bit before setting the guitar down.

“Yeah, I built it myself.” He replies. “You'll all be sleeping in cabins around the property tonight. Don't worry, I'll bring you there in the snow cat so we don't have to walk three miles in the blizzard outside.”

“You could've at least told us so we could go back.” Nytro says, taking off the elf hat.

“Don't worry, Warning and you will get your own cabin.” He says. “Let's worry about this a bit later. I got all of you gifts for Christmas, since all of you missed the last seven that we had. Hopefully I can still salvage this.”

The air was awkward to say the least, a bit tense from the botched dinner as Jack grabs the massive sack of gifts. This year he made sure to do better research than he did before, making sure everyone was going to love the gifts that he got or made for them. Vikna gets up and helps him pass everything out, hopefully relieving some of the tension he was feeling from the dinner. When the gifts had been passed out, everybody had at least two things. ARA was the last to sit down, so she was the first to go. When she opens her gift, it was a pair of headphones designed to fit around feline ears. They were much nicer than the ones she had been issued, and she seemed happy to receive them.

“These are of excellent quality, mister Jackson. I appreciate your gift and know these will not break any time soon.” She says with a smile, setting them on her head.

“I bought a pair for all three of you. I remembered how cheap the equipment was and decided to get you some anthro Bose instead. Hopefully they fit around your AR headsets.” He says, giving them all a warm smile as the other anthroids find the same gift inside their wrapped packages. “I also found a pair for Zeta too, but I couldn't really find a pair for BST, since I don't even know what they look like now.”

“It's fine, really. BST gets all of the high end gear that we don't.” Vale says, a bit envious before chuckling. “It's fine though, we're just bridge AI. BST goes out and kills people in actual combat.”

Jack nods, Nytro being next along the line of gift recipients. He takes the largest and longest box out first, tearing the packaging open and opening the box.

“Thought you didn't like me.” He says, pulling out a very sharp and finely crafted blade from the box as he smirks. “The balance is perfect and it's got some weight behind it. Who made this?”

“It was a group effort with the local forge and metal working companies. I challenged them to make a sword that could be swung regularly at mach speeds and offered...a large sum of cash to them for it. Took them over a year to craft it and it's been tested in some of the harshest conditions imaginable.” Jack replies. “This is the best blade that America, if not the world has to offer.”

He sets the other gift down on the floor, making his way to the middle of the living room and doing a few swings with it. He takes a deep breath and swings the sword upward so fast that it nearly snuffs out the fireplace with the wind it produces.

“Wow, there's almost no air resistance.” He says, looking over the sword. “I guess this will be replacing my current sword.”

“What happened to the heirloom?” Jack asks.

“I lost it in a fight.” He replies. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Alright, Loki, you're up next.” Jack says, not missing a beat.

“I hope I got something good, considering just how heavy these things you sat on my lap are.” The lion jokes, unwrapping the first package that was nearly as tall as Kaya was.

When he opens the box that was on his lap, a massive sword is revealed.

“I tried my hand at making a giant sword in the forge I made. That thing took two months to make and has been hardened to take any blow you can dish out without cracking. I tested it with my suit set in overdrive and split a large boulder in half with it.” The man says with a smile. “I don't know if it's balanced well enough for you to use in your giant form, but I made sure the center of mass was as far back toward the grip as I could get it.”

“How much does it weigh?” He asks, holding it up with one hand like it was nothing. “Feels like it's almost three hundred pounds.”

“Two seventy.” Jack replies. “I'd ask you to try it out, but there's a blizzard outside and your giant form is too tall for my ceiling.”

“This is an amazing gift. Your work with center of mass does wonders for it. I might even choose to use this over the sword I currently have. It's small enough that I could wield it one handed in my giant form.” He says with a smile. “I appreciate the gift.”

Ayn is next on the list, picking up one of her 3 gifts and opening it up. It was a Christmas sweater that Vikna had woven for her.

“Aw, it's so cute.” She says, putting it up to her chest. “I'll be sure to wear it tomorrow. Thank you, sweetie.”

“You're welcome.” Vikna replies with a smile, beaming with pride.

Velheim picks up one of his gifts and opens it, a large box being present as he takes out a bayonet to open it up with. When he opens the box, he pulls out a Stahlhelme from the box, a thin metal layer wrapped around a thick layer of polyethylene. He taps the helmet and puts it on his head, the helmet fitting perfectly.

“That helmet can actually stop bullets.” Jack says, Velheim taking the helmet off and looking it over again.

“Really?” He asks.

“A helmet made of the same inner material saved my life in Iran. It stopped an AK round from about a hundred meters away.” Jack replies. “Had the inner shell custom made by Ops-Core. I had a metal worker make the outer shell.”

“Thank you mein freund. I'll use it from now on.” He says with a smile, putting the helmet on and strapping it to his head. “Much lighter than my old helmet.”

Zofie wastes no time opening her own gift, tearing apart the wrapping paper as she finds a pair of oven gloves inside.

“What are these?” She asks.

“They're like oven mitts, but gloves.” He replies. “It'll make grabbing things from the oven a lot easier.”

“I've never seen something like this before. Thank you!” She says with a giddy smile. “If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd give you a hug.”

“Alright, back to you, ARA.” Jack says.

“Wait, isn't it miss Vikna's turn?” She asks.

“We're doing our own thing for Christmas.” He says, Franklin sitting down on his tiny recliner. “So go ahead. Open your next gift. It should be from Vikna.”

ARA does just that, opening her gift and seeing it's a sweater with her tail pattern running up the arms.

“I made one for you and Warning, but I couldn't remember what Vale's pattern was, so I just put some hexagons going up instead.” Vikna tells her with a smile.

“I didn't know you could sew.” ARA says, looking over the sweater. “I like it. Thank you, miss Vikna.”

“You're welcome.” Vikna tells her with a warm smile.

“This unit is also very appreciative of her gift.” Warning says, holding the sweater out and putting it on over her clothing.

“I'm also grateful for this sweater. I think it matches the screens back home nicely.” Vale adds. “At least, the screen savers.”

Nytro takes that as his cue to open up his last gift, another long box. He looks back up at Jack and chuckles, opening the box up and finding a rifle inside.

“I thought I told you I don't do guns.” He says with a smirk, taking aim at the fireplace.

“That rifle can nail a dude at a thousand yards in the right hands.” Jack tells him. “It'll do just fine inside of three hundred. It's chambered in three hundred Winchester magnum. Should be pretty cheap to print.”

“The reason I say this is because I'm not exactly allowed to carry a rifle on patrol.” He says. “Swords and pistols only.”

“You don't have to carry it out on patrol. Just keep it at home and use it as a range toy.” Jack tells him. “Doesn't kick very hard because of the brake I put on it.”

“Well, thanks.” He says. “I'll definitely NOT use it as my patrol rifle. Since I'm completely unqualified to do so and it would be very illegal. So I won't do it. Ever. At all. Nope, not me.”

“Right...” Jack says. “Alright, Loki, you're next.”

He nods, pulling up the next massive package and opening it up to reveal a large, metallic shield.

“Guess there's a reason the sword is one handed.” Loki tells him, hefting the shield up. “This is pretty heavy. I'm surprised you could lift it.”

“It's up there.” Jack says. “It's about five hundred pounds of titanium alloy. This thing can deflect rail gun rounds at point blank without even scratching the surface. That took me almost three years to design and forge with my current equipment, since nobody was willing to do it.”

“I feel very special.” He says with a smile, raising the shield and sword into a defensive position. “I can definitely crush someone with the shield if they somehow disarm me.”

“Thank you for arming one of the most dangerous men in the room.” Ayn says with an annoyed tone.

“Don't worry, I gave you something too.” He says, pointing to the large boxes on the ground.

She picks up one of the boxes and unwraps it, tearing open the box to reveal a pair of gauntlets and bracers.

“Gauntlets?” She asks.

“They can deflect bullets if you're fast enough.” Jack replies.

“How do you make things like this if you're only a novice blacksmith?” Ayn asks, slipping the gauntlets and bracers on her arms.

“I take existing designs, beef them up a bit, and make them larger. Nytro isn't really able to use the bracers and gauntlets effectively because of how much they weigh. Last time I checked, it was a hundred pounds each.” He replies. “Heck, I can barely make use of them. If I was skilled, I'd make them compatible with even moderately strong people.”

“So, how well do they work?” She asks.

“They can take more than a few blows from Loki's sword if the wearer's bones can take it. You can lift more than a few tons on your own, so I'll take a wild guess and say your bones are just as strong, if not stronger than mine.” He tells her. “Check your other present.”

She does as she's asked, opening up the third and final present and seeing multiple things inside the box. She pulls out a few pictures of the ranch as well as a spool of cord, a more professional looking mount holding it as she looks back at him with a smirk.

“Is this for my staff?” She asks.

“Yeah, the cordage is nearly unbreakable.” He replies. “There's a quick release on there somewhere, but I forgot where I put it. Play around with it for a while and I'm sure you can figure it out.”

“Thanks, it really means a lot.” She says. “Hopefully I won't need to use these.”

“On a less awkward note, Velheim, you're up.” Jack says, the German man picking up the large box off the ground.

“This is pretty heavy.” He says, unwrapping the package and seeing the H&K logo on the box. “What's H&K?”

“Just take a look inside.” Jack says, grinning ear to ear.

He does just that, opening the box and pulling out a rifle alongside a pistol.

“What are these?” He asks.

“Have you heard of the MP42?” Jack asks in return.

“Oh, those new space guns?” He asks. “Yeah, an officer in my unit had one.”

“That kind of evolved into what you're holding right now.” He says, pointing to the weapon in his hand. “It's an HK 416 I've modified for, uh, fully automatic fire.”

“You say that like it's something you're not supposed to do.” Velheim says, looking over the rifle that seemed to be made of rails.

“It's very illegal.” Jack replies. “Just don't bring it back into the states when you go back to the Rishan.”

“How am I supposed to maintain this?” He asks. “This thing looks like an erector set.”

“I'll teach you later.” Jack replies.

“And the pistol?” Velheim asks.

“That's a P7. Thirteen rounds of nine millimeter with four magazines.” Jack replies. “Squeeze the grip tight to cock the weapon and let go of it to put it on safe. No way to fire it without pulling on that.”

“Alright.” The German says, doing as he says and pointing the gun at the fireplace. “What's the other present?”

“Just ammo. I bought some eight millimeter Mauser for your rifle as well. Most of it's just five five six and nine mil, but I bought some match grade ammo for your Kar98.” Jack replies. “You're next, Zofie.”

She nods, having been transfixed on the guns before looking down at her last 2 gifts. She picks up one of them and unwraps it, seeing a large stack of cook books sitting on her lap.

“Wow, this will keep me busy for the next three years!” She says with an excited smile. “Thank you!”

Jack is about to reply when he hears his phone start ringing, taking it out and seeing it's Tim's emergency number. Jack immediately answers the phone.

“What's up, Tim?” He asks.

“Hey, bud. I'm stuck on the highway about ten miles from your ranch. I'm getting snowed in real bad and I can't even open my doors. Triple A can't get to me and I'm afraid the road services might run over me if I don't get out of this soon.” He says, worry in his voice.

“Yeah, I'll be right there.” Jack says, everyone looking up at him now. “Send me your location and I'll come pick you up in the snow cat.”

“Thank god, man. You're a life saver.” He says. “Sent you my location. You gotta hurry because this snow is getting deeper as we speak.”

“Alright, I'll be there in about an hour.” Jack says. “Stay safe and sit tight. Turn your engine off if the tail pipe is buried or you'll be dead before I get there.”

He hangs up the phone and gets out of his chair, everyone looking confused.

“What's going on?” Vikna asks, getting up with him.

“Tim's buried in the snow about ten miles south.” Jack replies. “I gotta go get him out.”

“I'm coming too.” She tells him, crossing her arms.

“No, you need to stay here and keep an eye on everyone.” He says. “I'll be back. Everyone, there's beer in the fridge and downstairs. Don't go overboard because I still need to take you all out to the cabins. I know some of you don't want to forget tonight.”

Nytro and Zofie both blush a bit, looking off to the side as Jack makes his way to the door, donning his overcoat and boots before slipping into some snow shoes. When he opens the door, the world is completely whited out, wind whipping in his face until he steps outside, closing the door. Instead of whipping his face, it felt like he was being stabbed in the face with icy daggers, forcing him to cover himself with his gloved hand. It was going to be an adventure even getting to the cat garage. He steps down into the immensely deep winter snow, his snow shoes keeping him afoot as he begins to waddle his way toward the cat garage.

10 minutes later

Jack opens the door to the massive pole barn, the snow cat being front and center with a few of the older cars sitting behind it. Jack makes his way inside, taking off his snow shoes and hopping down off the snow and into the garage. The snow was at least 2 feet deep, meaning there wasn't any way that anything except his snow cat or snowmobiles were getting through any of this. Jack opens the door and hops up inside the old snow cat, slamming the door closed and turning the key to on as the glow plugs warm the engine up. It was starting to get dark, so Jack turns on his lights, lighting the entire garage up like it was the middle of the day as snow blows into the garage. When the glow plugs warm the engine sufficiently, Jack turns the engine over, cranking the engine until it starts. He wastes no time waiting for the snow cat to warm up, sticking it into drive and releasing the brake before making his way forward and into the snow.

The tracked vehicle hits the snow and the cat flies up and over it, sitting comfortably on top of it as the snow cat rumbles along the snow. Jack closes the door behind him with a remote, the massive barn door being pulled along by an electric motor before closing completely. After it's closed, Jack pushes the throttle on the cat all the way forward, the four tracked machine powering forward through the snow at a perfectly acceptable 20 miles an hour. The old ski park workhorse rumbles along as Jack drives past the rear of his house, turning back toward the road before the GPS finally acquires a signal, the snow acting like a mirror as light reflects back into his eyes. He once again thanks his lucky stars for his augmented vision, having saved him more times than he can count as he adjusts to the bright light assaulting his eyes. The fence he used to keep the cattle inside the grazing areas were buried almost half way by the snow as he drives down the hilly driveway toward the road. He punches in the last of the coordinates and the snow cat finally makes it past the final gate to the road.

40 minutes later

Jack has his warning lights on, having already seen another snow cat on the road. He was right on top of the coordinates Tim had given him and nearly missed the almost completely buried truck. He sighs, knowing there was no way in hell he was getting that truck out of there, let alone pulling it along the snow. Jack puts the snow cat in park and opens up the door, seeing now that there was maybe 8 inches of the cab visible. He grabs a massive, extendable flag that was nearly 20 feet long, which came with the snow cat for marking dangerous points on ski slopes. When he gets his snow shoes on, he grabs the shovel and steps down onto the tracks, hopping off them and onto the snow before sinking a few inches into it. When he stops sinking, Jack waddles over to the doomed truck, wiping snow off the top of the truck and banging on it.

“You still alive in there, Tim?!” Jack yells over the rushing win.

“Yeah.” He hears from inside, Tim sounding a little winded. “It's hard to breath in here, man.”

“Hang on, I'll get you out!” Jack yells down, getting to work with the shovel as he feverishly throws snow from the driver's side door.

He is throwing snow like his life depended on it, tossing the solidified water aside as he scrapes it away from his friend's window. When he finally throws enough snow out of the way for him to roll down the window, he taps on it gently.

“Roll down the window!” Jack yells.

“No power.” Tim replies. “Man, I'm so tired.”

“GET BACK!” Jack screams, rearing back with the shovel.

He slams the shovel forward into the window with as much force as he can muster, smashing the glass into thousands of tiny pieces as his friend covers his face.

“Fuck, man!” He yells, sliding over the pieces of glass. “Help me out!”

Jack grabs the man's hand, pulling him up and out of the truck. He puts him in a buddy carry, making his way to the other side of the snow cat as his friend breathes in the sweet fresh air of the outside world. He opens the door, hoisting himself up on the track and setting Tim inside the cat. He closes the door, hopping down and undoing the strap as the flag unfolds itself. He slams the flag down behind the truck as he sees a flashing light coming down the road,throwing snow in large quantities over the left side of the road. It was the snow blower. Jack waits for the massive snow blower to come up, the thing stopping as Jack hops down on the ground, falling nearly five feet before stopping. He makes his way over to the truck and the guy opens the door, wanting to see what Jack wanted.

“There's a truck underneath that snow bank!” Jack yells. “Be careful! You'll destroy your plow!”

“Thanks, man, I saw the flag!” He yells back over the sound of the truck. “You need a lift?!”

“No, I just rescued my friend and I'm heading back! Merry Christmas and thanks for clearing the roads!” Jack yells back, walking back to the wall of snow and squatting, jumping back up on top of the snow bank.

He makes his way back to the snow cat, hopping on top of the track and taking his shoes off before getting back onto the cat. He brings the shoes back into his vehicle, closing the door before setting the shoes behind the seat. He turns the cat around and puts the throttle to full, driving along the road as Tim turns toward him.

“Thanks for picking me up.” He says, looking back before turning back to him. “Is this thing one of those snow cats from the ski resort?”

“It's one of the old ones. I offered them a fair price for it and fixed it up myself. It was a good project for me.” Jack replies. “You're lucky I came when I did. You're oxygen deprived. Did you not get my text?”

“You gave me a text?” He asks.

“Yeah, I told you to stay put because we were getting a massive mountain blizzard.” Jack replies.

“It dumped an absolute fuckload of snow on me.” Tim tells him. “I started spinning after five minutes and got completely snowed in after another ten.”

“Do you have studs on yet?” Jack asks.

“No, I'm running bald tires. Of course I have studs on, you fucking dipshit. The snow is literally five feet deep, if not more.” Tim replies. “Studs don't do jack shit.”

“We'll be back to the house in about half an hour.” Jack says, picking up the radio and keying on the mic. “Vikna, copy?”

Jack waits for a bit before the radio crackles back in response.

“Send it, Jack.” Vikna replies.

“I've got Tim, we're making our way back and should be home in about half an hour.” Jack tells her.

“Copy, I'll save some beers for you.” Vikna tells him before he sets the radio back up on the mount.

“Wish my wife was as cool as Vikna. She's probably going to kill me when I get home.” He tells Jack. “She told me not to go because of the blizzard, but I told her you would've done it for me.”

“That's only because I have this thing.” Jack replies with a smile.

“How much did you pay for it?” He asks.

“About seventy grand, then I had to pour another ten into it to get it working like new.” Jack replies. “You'll probably be bunking with Vale and ARA.”

“Who are they?” He asks.

“Friends from the Rishan.” Jack replies. “They're AI, but they won't go rogue. Too rigid for that.”

“So, they're terminators?” Tim asks.

“No, but they will be if you piss them off.” Jack replies. “I'll give you an elephant rifle for the night.”

“Damn right. Never going out in your woods at night without one ever again.” Tim tells him.

“Nytro and Warning are going to be sleeping in a cabin by themselves.” Jack says. “Same with Zofie and Velheim.”

“You're throwing a lot of names at me at once. I recognize Nytro, but Warning? Zofie and Velheim? Who are they?” He asks.

“Zofie is a cook from the Rishan. Warning is another AI from the Rishan and Velheim is a German soldier from the second world war.” Jack replies.

“What...” He says.

“It's honestly best to not ask.” Jack says. “Let's just get home. No country music, either.”

Tim rolls his eyes and lays back in the seat, hoping to catch some shuteye as the cat rolls along the snow like it wasn't even there.

40 minutes later

The cat rolls to a stop as Jack turns the throttle down, grabbing his snow shoes off the back as he opens the door to the cat. Tim opens his door too, stepping on the track as Jack hops down. The blizzard has died down a bit, no longer whipping snow around. Snow was instead falling down normally as Jack makes it to the track on the passenger's side, allowing Tim to get on his back. The snow shoes sink further into the ground, but Jack is more than capable of lifting a measly 180 pound man. When he reaches the porch, Vikna opens the door as he lets Tim down, the man thanking Jack before he makes his way into the house with him. When Jack gets inside, he can tell everyone is at least a little drunk.

“Alright, I'm going to be taking people to the cabins after I grab a few things from the basement!” Jack yells over the people laughing and having a good time. “You can take your drinks with you if you want, just don't touch anything inside the cabins that are on the walls!”

Everyone quiets down after that, Jack taking off his snow shoes and making it to the narrow staircase to the basement. When he reaches the basement, he turns toward the large, metallic door and types in the password. He then scans his finger prints and retinas, the door making a beep before it unlocks. He opens the door and lights turn on automatically, revealing his ridiculous and unnecessarily large collection of weapons. He grabs a large bolt action rifle off the wall, grabbing ammo for it as well before loading the rifle up with 458 Winmag. The rounds were all dipped in holy water before they were put back in the case, as well as the weapon being blessed by the local priest. However, the spooks know well enough to stay away from all the religious affects Jack had placed around the cabins. He also grabs a cross key chain he keeps next to it, hooking it onto the sling of the rifle before grabbing the box of blessed ammunition. After all is said and done, Jack heads back through the vault door, closing it behind him before walking back upstairs.

When he reaches the top, he already sees Kaya hitting on Tim, rubbing up against him as he looks around uncomfortably. Jack makes his way up to the two as she smiles over at him, biting her lower lip as her tail flicks around. The man points to Tim's wedding band, Kaya immediately backing off and apologizing profusely. Tim only chuckles at this and Jack rolls his eyes, gathering up Nytro, the AI, and Tim before making his way back out to the front door. He dons his snow shoes, making his way outside while everyone stands by the doorway. As he gets inside the snow cat, he begins inching it forward until it's close enough for everyone to step inside. Once everyone is inside, Jack passes Tim the rifle and Nytro some ammo he dipped in holy water.

“Don't touch anything on the walls, especially the crosses. I don't care if you make a mess of the sheets, as long as you change them in the morning.” Jack tells them. “If anything makes it inside, shoot it with one of the rounds and it'll die instantly. Anywhere on the body is fine. Understand?”

“Don't touch anything, shoot anything that comes inside. Yeah, I got it.” Nytro replies, being one of the only people still sober.

“Nytro and this unit are gonna FUCK!” Warning blurts loudly from the back before burping, causing Nytro to blush wildly as Tim chuckles. “He's going to turn her innie into an OUTTIE!”

“My faculties are slipping. Alcohol was a bad idea.” Vale replies in a bit of a slur, staying otherwise still as ARA bobs from side to side.

“I will not do anything with this weird man.” ARA says aloud, as if she's speaking what she's thinking. “No fucking will happen. None.”

“It's fine, I'm married.” Tim says back to her, causing her entire face to change from red and white to blue in the blink of an eye.

Jack shakes his head, backing himself up and turning toward the first cabin.

3 hours later

Jack finally sits down, having just put more logs on the fire as Franklin and Kaya both sit down. Jack paired Loki and Ayn together so they'd learn to get along, both protesting furiously before he offered to let them sleep in the middle of the woods instead. After he left, he heard some slamming, having stuck around for a few minutes before grunting and growling turned to moaning and squeals of pleasure from both parties. He guessed they were drunk and horny enough to fuck each other into a mess.

“So, when am I getting my gift?” A familiar voice asks from the couch, interrupting Jack's train of thought.

When Jack looks over, he sees a figure uncloak, immediately getting up and pointing a gun at them. When they fully uncloak, he lowers the pistol as both Vikna and her father begin to snicker.

“Since you ignored me at the dinner, I cloaked myself and waited for everyone to leave.” The sly cat tells him with a smile. “How's my son in law doing?”

“Uh, good.” Jack replies with a nervous chuckle. “Listen, that thing at the dinner...”

“Bitch had it coming.” He says. “Oops, sorry Franklin.”

“I don't ever say bad words. They're bad and daddy says he'll spank me if he hears me swear before poobity.” Franklin tells him with an innocent smile.

“He's so cute. You did a good job, honey.” Her father tells Jack, causing her to blush.

“S-stop it, dad.” She tells him.

“So, yeah, I don't care. I would've been mad if you hadn't done anything.” He tells Jack. “It's okay, son. You have a spine and that's all I care about. Someone needs to keep my daughter on the straight and narrow.”

“Can we open presents now?” Franklin asks, his patients having already dried up.

“Since you asked, you go last.” Jack replies, smiling down at his kid.

“Aw.” Franklin says, looking down at the floor.

“So, Vikna, you go first.” He says, Vikna picking up a colorfully wrapped gift from the ground before opening it up.

It was a box from the field of debris Jack went through, both Vikna and her father recognizing the box instantly.

“Where'd you find that, son?” Mister Ramenskaya asks.

“In the wreck of her old ship.” Jack replies. “Found lots of stuff in there.”

“This was the music box mom gave to me...” Vikna says, opening it up as a holographic anthro pops up, playing a flute-like instrument. “Are all of these gifts things that you got from the wreck?”

“Not all of it, but quite a few of them are, since I'm not really allowed to leave the ranch.” Jack tells her.

“Well, thank you.” Vikna says with closed eyes, closing the music box.

“Guess it's my turn?” Her father asks. “I appreciate you getting me something, despite only having met a few times.”

“What kind of son doesn't get his father a Christmas present?” Jack asks. “You can open them both up at the same time, if you'd like.”

He nods, opening up the smaller, flatter package before cocking his head. It was a very thick file labeled “TOP SECRET” with the department of defense's official seal on it.

“Did you steal documents?” He asks, looking up at Jack.

“The SECDEF wanted you to have this.” Jack tells him. “I told him I'd keep it safe until you came around. It's strategies the US Navy and Marine Corps have developed to repel boarders and engage in ground warfare with a superior foe.”

“Your elites are giving an officer like me something vital to their defense?” He asks.

“Yes. You're the only one they trust with this information, since you're the special forces commander on Katric.” Jack replies. “They were going to give them to Radoslav, but Vikna and I told them that was a terrible idea.”

“I'll say. Guy's got more than a few screws loose. So, these are from your nation's elite?” He asks.

“Yeah. Navy SEALs, MARSOC, Green Berets, Delta Force, DEVGRU, everybody. All the branches pitched in and created a battle plan about three years ago and, since they didn't know exactly who Fluff was at the time, asked me to give them to Radoslav. I told them no and the only one I trusted with these plans was you.” Jack replies. “They're for your eyes and your eyes only.”

“I'll save them to my neural implant and keep the physical copy here.” He tells Jack.

Jack nods and Ramenskaya opens up his next present, a handgun with a hefty muzzle brake on it.

“What's this?” The man asks. “I already have a service pistol.”

“Not like this one.” Jack says. “Fifteen rounds of fifty caliber long. It'll punch through the light armor that most boarding parties will be using. I tested it against a few plates I...came across back on Katric and it goes right through the breast plates on the mid tier armor.”

“Some pistol.” He says, looking it over and racking the slide back. “Is the ammo printable?”

“Yeah, it's printable.” Jack replies.

“Well, uh, thank you.” He says, putting the pistol back in the box and setting the file aside.

“Your turn, Frankie.” Jack tells Franklin.

“Yay!” His son yells out, hurriedly opening the box to a new toy.

2 hours later

Vikna is laying down on Jack's lap as he runs his fingers through her hair. She was dead tired from the Christmas dinner and talking all day, having passed out nearly a half an hour ago. Her father was sitting next to Jack, reading through the documents as he takes another sip of his beer.

“You've been taking care of her, right?” He asks idly, not looking up from the paper.

“I think I have.” Jack replies. “We've only ever had one big fight.”

“What was it about?” He asks. “If you don't mind me asking.”

“It was about me...” Jack says, rubbing Vikna's back. “I wasn't exactly here all the time for the first two years. I left to go get trained by MARSOC and the SAS. She stopped me before I could get any more training.”

“Then you got mad because she did the same to you?” He asks, taking another sip of his drink.

“Yes.” Jack replies, hanging his head.

“What else did she say?” He asks, glancing over to Jack.

“I was a mess.” He replies. “I still am a mess.”

“So she told you the truth?” He asks. “I'm surprised she put up with it so long.”

“Same here.” Jack replies. “I've been working at helping her out a bit. I rarely go out and do anything I enjoy anymore and I devote most of my free time to helping her with the house.”

“So, you're in an old fashioned husband and wife relationship? I can accept that, but you need to be willing to help her if she's willing to help you.” He tells Jack.

“Yes, sir.” Jack says, rubbing the top of Vikna's head as she begins purring in her sleep.

“Will you be needing any help digging everyone out tomorrow?” He asks, putting another page to the back of the stack as he reads over it.

“I've got a machine for that.” Jack replies. “I'll be busy clearing the road tomorrow, since the road services have actually closed down due to just how much snow we're getting. Nothing they have will cut it and they're calling out a bunch of snow cats from ski resorts and the like.”

“Snow cat?” He asks.

“Big old tracked vehicles. I have one with a plow on it that I can use to scrape the top layer of snow off.” Jack tells him. “It's bigger than the snow cat I came in on.”

“We usually just melt the snow with orbital snow clearing devices.” He tells Jack with a smirk.

“Well, where's the fun in that?” Jack asks.

He rolls his eyes as Jack continues stroking Vikna's hair, feeling her start to purr as she adjusts herself. Her eyes flutter open and she smiles, giving him a hug before yawning.

“Tired.” She says simply. “Carry me.”

Jack nods, grabbing under her legs and arms before taking him and her with him, making their way toward the stairs. When they're both up, Vikna gets close to Jack's ear and begins whispering.

“I'm too tired for tonight. Just fuck me lying down.” She whispers, laying back in his arms as Jack enters the bedroom.

“Your dad's right in the living room. I know he said he's cool with it, but I'm sure it's really rude to just have sex while he's right downstairs.” Jack tells her.

“Aw, fine.” She says, rolling her eyes. “At least cuddle with me tonight.”

“I will.” Jack says, setting her down on the bed before getting in himself.

He turns the lamp off he had on his side of the bed, pulling the covers over himself before pulling Vikna to him as well. She giggles at that and wraps herself around him, purring the whole way as they both start to drift off.

8 hours later

Vikna finishes off the big breakfast with some hash browns, having gone and picked up Zofie this morning. Velheim had come too, wanting to eat something before going back to Serko. Her father was sitting down at the table, eating with Franklin as Kaya watches TV on the couch, watching the news as they talk about the record setting snow dump of almost 10 feet in some areas. The roads were completely closed and it was 2 degrees below zero outside. She hears the man she originally was going to make this breakfast for coming down the stairs, a tiredness in the way he walked as he turns the corner. He was dressed in very warm clothing as he steps up to the table and takes the only seat not taken.

“How'd you sleep last night?” Vikna asks him with a smile.

“Good, you?” He asks.

“Good. Make sure to eat everything on your plate and take that lunch with you.” She replies. “Your friend and my dad said they were probably going to bunk here. He's not done reading the documents and your friend got a call saying his truck was totaled by a plow.”

“Where are all the others?” Jack asks.

“They all went back already. The cabin Ayn slept in is a total mess, so I'll have her come back tomorrow and clean it up.” She replies.

“Did they take any leftovers?” He asks.

“Yeah, everyone took at least one thing.” She replies. “Snow is blocking a quarter of the porch, so you'll have to step up on it.”

“You want to come along?” He asks.

“Only if Kaya wants to watch after Franklin.” She replies.

“Sure, I'll do it.” She says from the living room.

“Guess I'm going too.” Vikna's father says, grabbing the documents from the table and folding them under his arm.

“Alright, good thing I have three seats.” Jack says before looking over at Velheim. “When are you two going back?”

“When you teach me to clean that rifle and pistol.” The German replies.

“I'm not leaving without him either.” Zofie adds, pulling him into a hug as she kisses the top of his head.

“What happened to high school dude bro?” Jack asks, stuffing a piece of bacon into his mouth.

“He wasn't very happy.” She replies. “There was a big fight with lots of throwing things. He called Velheim and Nazi and they both fought.”

“I'm not a Nazi. I hate Nazis.” He says, gripping his fist together. “I do not hate Jews and I do not send them into ghettos. I am a German, Ich bin kein gottverdammter Nazi!”

Velheim slams his fist down on the table, spooking everyone at it as Zofie puts a hand on his shoulder

“He's still angry about it.” She tells Jack. “I don't even know what a Nazi is, but he seems to hate them just as much as you hate-”

“Whoa, let's not drag me into this.” Jack says, interrupting her as she chuckles. “I'd like to get moving on this snow as early as possible. I'll take the bacon and hash browns to go.”

With that, Jack gets up, taking a big bite out of the bacon strips in his hand, scarfing them down quickly as he makes his way to the door.

30 minutes later

Vikna closes the door on the side of the snow cat, having bundled up in a very thick and warm coat while her father borrows one of Jack's and a blanket. They roll out of the pole barn and up onto the snow ramp Vikna had made, the magic portal still being open until Velheim and Zofie leave. As he crests the hill, Jack sees the house is half buried in a snow drift on one side while the other side has snow flowing around it, meaning he was going to have to clear it later with this same machine. When he turns toward the hole in the ice wall Vikna made, he grabs the radio and sets it to the frequency he was provided with by the DOT. When it's set, he takes the microphone off the mount and keys it on.

“All units, how many cats do we got out today?” Jack asks.

About 6 reply after he asks and Jack confirms, checking the fuel and seeing the tank was still full, giving him a good 10 hours running before he had to stop and get fuel, which he had plenty of in the rear of the snow cat. He runs the cat down the driveway at a pretty decent clip of speed, going nearly 30 down the hill.

“I gotta say, this machine is pretty impressive.” Vikna's father says, looking out at the tracks spinning and kicking up snow as they make it down the driveway. “Looks kind of old, though.”

“It's pretty old. Nearly ten years old.” Jack tells him. “Took me a few grand and about a year of work to get it working.”

“Didn't know you were mechanically inclined.” He says, Jack stopping the cat as he approaches the road.

“Reading manuals does wonders for fixing things you don't know how to fix.” Jack tells him, turning down what he thinks is the road. “Let's meet up with the DOT and the other cats. I'll probably be pulling most of the heavy duty, since my cat is the most powerful one made before the new models went to shit.”

“Why'd they all go to shit?” He asks.

“New emissions laws because, unlike Katric, everything runs on gasoline and diesel.” Jack replies. “It's slowly melting our ice caps and causing rising sea levels, so we have to take measures against that by reducing emissions. What Radoslav should've done was give us some of those hover cars and plans to build them.”

“They don't float over snow very well. They need a hard surface to repel from or they'll just sink.” He tells him. “Besides, I actually like these machines. Beautifully simple and functional.”

As all 3 of them roll along the road, Jack has the plow going, pushing a layer of snow off to the side of the road to make it easier for whoever came around later. The machine was able to power through it with ease, most of the snow being dry and fresh. Vikna was laying on Jack's shoulder as her father continued to look through the file, studying it thoroughly.

“So, fire superiority and maneuvering from cover to cover is the secret to success in combat?” He asks.

“Precisely.” Jack replies. “Fire and maneuver. Trench warfare is extremely dated and extremely stagnant, basically just a huge meat grinder.”

“I see.” He says, Jack continuing to drive along the road as he pushes snow out of the way of the road.

As the man keeps driving, Vikna's father looks around the cabin, noticing a large lever action rifle sitting above their heads.

“What's the gun for?” He asks, turning back to his papers.

“Bears, moose, mountain lions, coyotes, you name it.” Jack replies.

“I hope you mean ferals.” He tells Jack.

“Of course, uh, I don't think I ever got your name.” Jack tells him.

“Oh, uh, my nickname is Roe. I keep my real name a closely guarded secret.” He says. “Naval special warfare and operations and all.”

Jack nods as he makes it to a bend in the road, following the GPS as best he could while the snow still came down at a pretty decent pace. As he continues rolling along, Vikna filled the cabin with content purrs, having now switched to laying in his lap. Jack lifts her up off his lap, setting her back in her seat as she whines. He points to the seat belts and she groans, buckling the seat belt before laying on his shoulder again. He sees a few lights in the distance, falling into a dip before coming back up again. He notices a large amount of snow cats and trucks in an area that's significantly more shallow than the place around him, many people walking around on snow shoes as state police ride in on snowmobiles. As Jack makes it to the shallow area, the snow cat dips into the square and he stops beside the rest of them. An officer gets off his snowmobile, waddling through the snow toward his snow cat before he raises his goggles. Jack reaches over Roe, opening the window up as he jumps up onto the track.

“We're going to be plowing fifty miles of road today.” The man says. “You're on top, the blower cat is on the middle, and the DOT truck is going in behind both of you. Get a foot deep with your plow if you can manage.”

“I can manage.” Jack replies. “It'll just be us?”

“Just you three.” He replies. “I heard you lived around here, but I never thought I'd meet you. Glad you decided to live in Montana, sir.”

“Yeah, let's get this show on the road so we can get emergency services through.” Jack tells him, the officer nodding before making his way off the track.

5 hours later

Jack stops the cat in front of his house, having plowed his driveway and the 50 miles he was given, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. He lays his head back on the seat, closing his eyes as he feels the relief already coming over him. He was hungry, thirsty, and wanted to lay down for a bit.

“How can you be exhausted from sitting in a seat all day? You weren't actually pushing any snow by hand.” Roe says.

“How can you be exhausted after ordering people around all day? You aren't actually running around the ship and doing everything yourself.” Jack snaps back. “I was focused for nearly five hours straight. The only thing I usually do is throw hay bales into a feeder and move a water tank around. Doesn't take much concentration to lift a few hundred pounds.”

The feline nods in understanding, opening the door to the snow cat up as he undoes his seat belt. He gets out first, hopping down onto the freshly plowed ground while Jack followed suit. Vikna was the last one out, sinking into the snow before she had to use her magic to blow the snow away from her. When all 3 of them get inside the house, Velheim is fiddling with his rifle as Zofie and Kaya both watch TV together. Franklin was on the floor, playing with a fire truck he got for Christmas while his toy gun sat on the floor beside him. As they all get their coats and boots off, Velheim gets up, bringing the gun over to Jack as he gets the last of his winter gear off.

“How do I even cycle this thing?” He asks. “Where is the bolt?”

Jack grabs the rifle, pulling the charging handle on the back out and letting the bolt fly forward. He hands the weapon back to the German and he nods, Tim making his way out of the bathroom.

“You left before I could even say thanks for letting me stay.” The man tells him.

“I had stuff to do and the roads are plowed now.” Jack tells Tim. “I can take you home if you want.”

“Fu-er, screw that, I want to go to the bar tonight. It's been a while since we've been bar hopping. You said you've been getting better, right?” He asks.

“Yeah, but I still don't think I should go out. I'm kind of scared of what happened last time.” Jack replies, remembering the massive bar fight he got into at one of the mountain bars.

“I can come along.” Vikna offers. “I haven't been to a bar with you in almost five years.”

“There's one along the road that I saw a few guys clearing out with snow cats. We can visit that one.” Roe adds. “I'll stay back though.”

“I'll think about it.” Jack says, making his way over to the couch Velheim was sitting at. “Let's teach you how to clean this thing.”

3 hours later

Jack pulls into the bar, massive walls of snow all around him as he finds a parking space in the relatively packed lot. He stops the Taurus and puts it in park, turning the engine on the relatively old car off completely before unlocking the doors. Vikna steps out of the passenger's side first while Tim steps out of the back, Jack being the last one out of the car. When the three make it into the bar, it was packed with people. Men and women lined the bar and many others were sitting at tables, getting plastered as they talked with some of the locals. There were a few men in uniforms, both Marine and Army, but Jack chose to ignore them as he made his way to an empty table. When all of them sit down at the table, Vikna looks at the small menu and nods a few times.

“Mind if I get something to eat?” She asks.

“I don't mind. You want anything, Tim?” Jack asks.

“I'll take a sandwich.” Tim replies.

He nods, a waitress making her way up to the table as Jack gives her a smile.

“Hiya.” Jack says. “I'd like a bacon sandwich and a bottle of Bud Light, please.”

“I want a BLT with a couple bottles of Heineken.” Tim adds.

“I'd like a few shots of, uh, Smirnoff please. Also, a fish sandwich if you have any. I'll take chicken if there's no fish.” Vikna says. “Thanks.”

“Will that be all?” The waitress asks.

Everyone at the table agrees and the waitress is off, the 3 at the table breaking into conversation.

“So, how's everything on the ranch going?” He asks.

“Sold the cattle.” Jack replies, the beer and sandwich being presented to him as he takes the drink in his hand. “Also sold a few of the horses, but the rest have probably died. It's too cold and the shelter probably collapsed.”

“Damn, that sucks.” He says, the waitress handing him his drinks and sandwich. “I've been trying to get into law enforcement. They say I'll be on the force within the week.”

“Nice, that's great.” Jack tells him. “Maybe I'll be able to find a job since the ranch has finally been paid off. Always wanted to be a cop.”

“I don't know. Your condition and your temper...” He says. “What do I know? They're desperate for people right now and I'm sure they'll take you in.”

Jack looks over at Vikna and sees her happily munching on her sandwich, purring contently before downing a shot of Vodka.

“Alcohol good~.” She coos before eating her sandwich with a blush.

3 hours later

Jack was definitely buzzed, but he was nowhere near the level of wasted that Tim was. Vikna was surprisingly sober, considering how much she's had to drink. The man was talking to every lady who'd pass by, some of them giving him bedroom eyes while others would laugh at his display while Jack continued watching Vikna. She finishes her third sandwich tonight and gets up, excusing herself from the table as she wanders off to the bathroom. Just as soon as she's out of sight, a woman takes her place at the table, confusing Jack for a second.

“Uh, who are you?” Jack asks.

“I can be anyone you want~.” The woman replies, scooting her chair toward him. “Anyone and anything.”

“Do I know you?” He asks, grabbing a sandwich and sticking it in his mouth.

“Mmm, I know you're that big hero from the news all those years ago. You're even hotter in person.” She says, putting a hand on his arm. “You're so rugged and handsome...”

“N-no...” Jack says, ripping his arms away. “Don't like being touched.”

“Then how are we going to get close?” She asks, running her hand down his side and making it down to his thigh.

“Hey baby, I can show you what a REAL dick looks like.” Tim says.

“No thanks, third wheel.” She tells him, looking back at Jack, rubbing her fingers up and down his crotch.

“S-stop...” He tells her quietly, shrinking away from her as he tries to back away from her unwanted advances.

“He's telling you to shtop.” Tim says, pulling her back a bit.

“Get off me!” She yells back at him before sitting on Jack's lap. “You're coming with me whether you like it or not. I promise you'll love me after a few minutes in my room~.”

“S-stop...” Jack says.

“He said stop, you two bit bar slut!” Vikna shouts, pushing her off his lap as she stumbles off him. “He's my husband, you bitch!”

“It was just a bit of fun, god!” The woman yells up.

“Just a bit of fun?! You're threatening him with RAPE!” She screams, Jack not understanding what she meant. “I'll be damned if I let some cheap cunt with an alcohol addiction take my man away from me!”

“He deserves better than some furry freak like you!” The random woman yells back at her, attracting the attention of a fair portion of the bar.

“You think I don't know that?!” She asks angrily. “Why he chose to marry me, I'll never know, but he put a ring on my finger and that's that! He doesn't go around marrying and divorcing at the toss of a hat! Deal with it, cunt!”

The woman gets up off the ground and rolls up her sleeves, making her way behind Jack as Vikna does too.

“Back off, bitch, I know three different kinds of martial arts and I'll-OOF!” Vikna says before she's sucker punched by the woman who's at least a foot taller than her.

Jack gets up out of his seat, the alcohol completely fading from his system as Vikna hops back up, getting into a fighting pose. The lady is also getting into a boxing position as Vikna takes the initiative, the larger woman easily deflecting any blows she manages to throw before bringing her leg into the side of the small feline. Vikna crumples on the floor, coughing as she holds her side, Jack not knowing what to do as the definitely MMA trained woman lays a beat down on his wife. Vikna gets up, managing to get a kick of her own into the woman as her claws tear into the dress she was wearing. However, the claws didn't go any further than that, the woman taking her leg and flipping the feline over. Jack intervenes, grabbing the woman as she delivers a swift kick to his shin, making him groan as he grits his teeth.

“Don't put your hands on me if you don't want me, pervert!” She yells angrily.

Jack doesn't let her go, throwing her away from his wife as she twirls back toward another table.

“Take on someone your own size, you fucking ogre!” Jack yells back, getting into a fighting stance as some of the less confident patrons of the bar begin filing out.

“Now you're showing interest when I beat some freakish furry thing.” The woman says with a smile.

“You seriously need to stop.” Jack says, getting up from his fighting position. “Can't I just go to a bar without getting into a fight that lands me in jail?”

“You don't need to fight me, you know.” She says with a smirk. “We can be the perfect couple together.”

“It can't get any better than what I have with Vikna.” Jack says, looking back at Vikna before looking back at the massive woman in front of him. “Go find someone else to flirt with.”

“Ma'am, you need to leave.” The bouncer says, putting a hand on her before she throat punches the man.

He grabs his throat, coughing and hacking as he falls to the ground while she turns back to the man.

“If I can't have you...” She says.

“Don't say it.” Jack says.

“Nobody can.” She finishes.

“Fuck OFF!” He yells, rolling his eyes. “Holy shit, you're such a drama queen!”

She doesn't reply and instead chooses to rush him, throwing a punch toward him as he flicks her arm out of the way. When he goes to throw a punch, she deflects his own punch with a surprising amount of strength, Jack barely lowering his chin in time to block a throat punch from the woman. He backs up, getting some distance between him and the woman as she's clearly a threat closer in. When she tries to close the distance he hits her with a quick jab, pushing her back in a stagger as he moves his jaw around. He really doesn't want to, but this woman is giving him no choice. He has to take the initiative and end this before she actually does some damage. He charges forward, the woman smirking as she gets ready to dodge. When he makes his way up to her, she skirts herself out of the way, but Jack outstretches an arm in a flash to catch her move. Her surprise is palpable as Jack hurtles a fist toward her gut, slowing up just in time to not punch straight through her. He was still inebriated, but he could fight.

She falls to the ground, gasping for air as Jack looks back at Vikna, who's still on the ground and nursing her knee. When he looks back, the woman delivers a swift kick to his jaw, throwing him into the bar with the force of a freight truck as he nearly knocks a man's drink over. He gets off the bar, giving the man an apologetic look as his eyes widen in surprise, looking off to Jack's left. Jack raises his left arm and blocks another kick from her, the force of her kick nearly knocking him over again as he whips himself around. He raises a fist of his own, the woman trying desperately to block but his swing just packs too much power. When his fist impacts the side of her head, she crumples to the ground, trying her best to move, but is thoroughly discombobulated. The fact that she lasted as long as she did was a feat in and of itself, which was the only thing he was giving her credit for.

“You get up and I'll kick your ass again.” He says. “Has anyone called the police?!”

“I have.” The bar tender replies.

“The hell were you thinking?” Jack asks the woman. “Making me hit you like that.”

“J-Jack...” Vikna says, on the verge of tears as the man looks back at her.

He rushes over to her, pulling her into a hug as she grabs the back of his shirt.

“She won't hurt you anymore.” Jack tells her, rubbing her hair with one arm as he holds her with the other. “Is anything broken?”

“She stretched a muscle, but that's about it.” Vikna replies. “I-I need you to carry me to the car.”

“I will when the police get here.” He says.

“JACK, LOOK OUT!” She screams.

Jack turns around and raises his arm, the woman slamming her fist right into his forearm. She grabs her fist in pain as Jack gets up, slamming a fist into her chest as she goes flying across the bar. She skids to a halt, slamming into a chair right under one of the soldiers as he cheers Jack on. She grabs at her chest and coughs a few times, laying back down on the ground.

“GET UP AGAIN AND I'LL CAVE IN YOUR SKULL!” Jack screams angrily, going back to comforting his wife. “Shhh, I won't let her hurt you.”

“This is my fault...” She says. “I forced you to come out here...”

“No, I wanted to come out here on my own.” He says, kissing her on the nose. “Don't blame yourself.”

“Holy shit, it's really you.” A man says, Jack looking up to see a man in Marine BDUs. “She kicked all our asses at least once. How'd you do it?”

“Beware the old man in a profession where men die young.” Jack replies with a smile, hugging his feline partner gently as he rubs behind her neck.

“I don't fucking think so!” He yells, rushing behind Jack before he hears a thud.

“I'm not done yet.” The woman says, Jack turning around.

“You should've stayed down.” Vikna tells her, Jack letting her down gently as the woman wipes some blood off her nose.

“I've never let a man beat me. I'm not letting that change today.” She says, getting into a fighting stance. “You'll have to go all out if you want to beat me.”

“Get out of here, you fucking anime protagonist wannabe.” Jack says, walking over to the bar as people back away from him. “How much does this counter cost? A grand?”

“Uh, just about.” The bartender replies.

“Lift all your drinks up.” Jack says down the counter, everyone doing just that.

He slams his fist down on the bar table as hard as he can, splitting the table in half down both sides. When the counter comes back to rest on the nails it was resting on, Jack turns back.

“Do you know what my 'all out' does to people's rib cages?” Jack asks. “There is no more rib cage after I'm done. So I'm telling you, no, begging you to stay down. Wait for the cops, spend a few days in jail, and think about what you've done. I'm not giving you another chance.”

He pulls the wallet out of his back pocket and pulls out 11 100 dollar bills and sets them on the broken bar, the bartender taking the money as the woman stands still, in shock at what just happened. When she finally regains her senses, she gets down on the ground, hands above her head as Jack sighs with relief. He grabs the edges of the bar table and hammers them back in with his fist, making a usable surface for people to put their drinks down as the police open the door to the building. Their weapons are drawn and Jack holds his hands up, more than a few of the bar patrons pointing to the woman on the floor.

“Holy shit, someone finally beat her?” One of the officers asks.

Another looks up and sees Jack, smiling back at him.

“I think it was a cake walk for this guy.” The officer tells the first one. “Surprised he didn't kill her.”

“Would've been justified.” The first officer says, grabbing hand cuffs and putting her hands in them. “You're under arrest for assault.”

“W-what? You're not even going to question anyone?” She asks. “He broke a fucking bar table!”

One of the officers looks at the bar table and back to him, raising his eyebrows briefly.

“I paid for it already.” Jack replies, pointing to the bar tender with a thumb as his hands remain upright.

“You have that kind of money just sitting around?” The officer asks.

“Look at me, sir. I'm a walking tank. Anyone stupid enough to try and rob me isn't going very far with my money.” He replies. “I tend to break things a lot, so it's best to have the money to pay for it rather than going to court. Speaking of which...”

“No, she's a repeat offender.” The officer replies, hauling her off the floor and taking her out the door. “Unless you want to press charges.”

“I think she's been humbled enough.” Jack replies. “Mind giving me a breath test so I can see if I can go home?”

“Sure, step right up.” One of them says, taking a small device from his belt and holding it up.

Jack steps up and the officer holds it out, the man putting his mouth over the mouth piece and blowing. The officer pulls it away when it finishes buzzing, looking at it for a while before shaking his head.

“Point eleven, sir. Wait an hour before going home or I'll have to pull you over.” The officer says. “Still, that was some pretty good fighting for someone who's over the legal limit.”

“Thanks, sir.” Jack says, holding his hand out for a handshake. “Have a nice night.”

“I will.” The man replies, giving him a firm handshake as Jack turns back to Vikna. “Stay safe.”

Jack nods and makes his way over to his wife, holding her gently as the police make their way out of the bar. He turns back to the bartender, giving him a sorry look before making his way to the table with Vikna in hand.

2 hours later

Jack is sitting on his couch as Roe looks through his files for the seventh time today, pretending to be busy as the human sits back with a cold beer in his hand.

“So, how'd it go?” Roe asks.

“About as good as I thought it would.” Jack replies. “Beat an MMA fighter down for nearly killing Vikna.”

“She would've been fine.” He says.

“No, I was screwed.” Vikna tells him. “Lady had me dead to rights. God, I've always wanted to say that.”

“So, you saved my daughter again?” He asks, flipping the file over before sighing. “It's good to see that you haven't turned into some maniac who beats her over simple things.”

“Oh, he beats me alright~.” Vikna says with a coo, Jack's entire face going red.

“Vikna, you know what I mean.” He says with a groan. “When is that portal of your friend's going to charge back up?”

“It usually takes a day after being active for as long as it was.” Jack replies. “He can force it in emergencies, but that only makes it take longer to charge the next time. It's really finicky with how it wants to work.”

“I see, so I'm stuck?” He asks, a bit more relieved than he should be.

“Pretty much. Don't worry, the next few weeks aren't going to be too busy. Too much snow to do anything and the road crews are going to be busy for a while.” Jack replies. “Stay as long as you like. I'm sure Kaya doesn't mind the company.”

“He's so sweet.” Kaya adds, giving him a close eyed smile as he blushes.

“Wait a second...” Vikna says, looking at her father. “Have you and Kaya...”

“No, we just cuddle!” Kaya replies, pulling the feline into a hug as he chuckles awkwardly.

Jack rolls his eyes, looking back over at Vikna as he munches on a protein bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting for 2 months while I got my rear into gear. Chapter 4 is an absolute unit (due to me not knowing how chapters work lol), so it might be a while before I get around to doing it. I proof read and edit everything in one go, so it takes me a while to post new chapters. Hope you all can understand.


	5. Chapter 4: Pulled in

Chapter 4: Pulled in

2 days later

Jack is sitting down on the couch as the sun begins to set outside, Roe reading through the papers one last time before letting out a sigh of relief. Jack is cleaning out one of his rifles, scraping the carbon buildup off the bolt before setting it down.

“How many more times are you going to go over those papers?” Jack asks.

“I'll go back when I'm good and ready.” He replies snappily.

“I'm just worried they'll send someone after me if you don't show back up.” Jack tells him. “I mean, they won't get far unless they bring over a hundred dudes, but I'm not willing to take that chance.”

“I said I'll go back when I fully understand the material!” Roe yells back, snarling at Jack as he grips the papers tight. “Don't get snappy with me, son!”

Jack is kind of taken aback by this, a look of confusion spread across his face as Vikna looks back from the kitchen.

“Dad, calm down. He's just worried for our safety.” Vikna says from the kitchen.

Jack sets the bolt back inside the rifle, having fully cleaned the weapon as he reassembles the AR. He grabs a magazine off the end table, slapping it inside the rifle and chambering a round before setting the rifle aside.

“I...I know.” Roe says, looking down at the floor. “I don't really want to go back, if it wasn't already apparent. Bhainen is proving to be something else. He's destroyed an entire fleet worth of vessels and we haven't even managed to destroy a battle group worth of his. I wasn't planning on sharing this with either of you, since I know how you both can get.”

“I'm really not bothered by it.” Jack tells him. “I'm done getting involved with the affairs of the Rishan galaxy.”

“Even if your friends get involved?” Roe asks.

“I might help out if they get caught up in this, but I'm absolutely sure that won't happen.” Jack replies. “I'm just done. I got a wife and kid to worry about and we're pretty stable right now.”

“Jack, Rei called today and asked when my dad was coming back.” Vikna says from the kitchen. “Uh, oven's not working again. Can you come fix it?”

Jack sighs, getting up from the chair and makes his way up to the kitchen. Vikna points to the oven and Jack shakes his head, slamming his foot into the appliance before it starts working again.

“Thanks!” She says, giving him a peck on the cheek before wrapping her tail around his waist.

“Guess my daughter is settling into the housewife roll quite readily.” Roe says with a smirk.

“You know I'd be in a ship if I could be. We'll probably go back for a while when Franklin turns thirteen, won't we?” Vikna asks through grit teeth as she threatens Jack's foot with her claws.

“Jeez, fine.” Jack says. “We can go back for a couple years.”

“Love you!” She says, pecking him on the cheek.

“Yeah, love you too.” He says, moving his feet away from hers as she begins to purr.

“No, don't leave yet!” Vikna yells.

She pulls him into a hug, holding him there with all 100 pounds of herself as she digs her claws into the floor. Jack immediately pulls her off the floor, eliciting a surprised yelp from her. She puts her arms around his neck and rubs his cheek with her own. The rubbing soon turns into a kiss, which itself turns into a make out session against the counter. Their tongues intertwine as she moans into his mouth, a sudden throat clearing stopping them dead in their tracks.

“Continue this upstairs. I don't want to see you get down and dirty with my daughter in the kitchen.” Roe says with his arms crossed.

Vikna pulls her tongue out of Jack's mouth, wiping her own as they both turn back to her father.

“Weren't you cooking something?” Jack asks.

“No, I just wanted you to fix the oven.” She replies. “Why? Do you want me to cook something?”

“I'm just asking.” He replies, looking back at the living room. “Sorry pops.”

“Don't call me that.” Roe tells him, glancing up from his data pad before laying back against the couch. “What do you think, sweetheart? Think I should go back and present my findings?”

“I think you should keep them confidential, since the government gave them to you and you alone.” She replies. “Keep them in your personal belongings safe and only use it in emergencies. You've studied the papers long enough to get a good scan of them from your memory.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” He says, looking down at the documents. “I'll keep it in my safe.”

He sets the papers off to the side and looks outside, cocking his head as he looks down the road.

“Uh, there's someone standing in the road.” He says, Jack opening one of the drawers and grabbing some binoculars from inside and peering through them.

When he looks through them, he nearly drops them in surprise. Standing in the road is Loki in a hoodie, looking very much down trodden. He had his massive hands inside his hoodie pocket, making his way up the road as Jack makes his way to the door. When he does so, he opens the door up and the massive lion is making his way up the porch. Loki looks down at Jack with sadness in his eyes, closing them and sniffling shakily.

“What's going on?” Jack asks.

“We lost...” He says.

“You lost what?” Jack asks.

“The war.” He replies. “It was over in hours. Bhainen ripped through every single planetary defense like it was nothing.”

Jack stands on the porch for a second, contemplating what he just said.

“How?” Jack asks.

“He was everywhere at once.” Loki replies. “Every single ship he had struck every major planet, working their way inward before everything the emperor ruled over was completely overrun.”

Jack looks for any sign of a lie, seeing none as the lion closes his eyes somberly. 

“I see.” Jack says, taking out his phone. “I have a few calls I need to make.”

He opens up his contacts, waving Loki inside as Roe tenses up at the sight. Jack opens the contact for his unit HQ, calling up his subordinate. When the phone begins dialing, he puts it up to his ear.

“Hello?” A gruff voice asks on the other side of the line.

“Activate SPETMAU.” Jack replies. “It's a possible world ender.”

“Right away, First Sergeant.” He says. “When will we be deploying?”

“Less than a year's time.” Jack replies, entering the kitchen as Vikna looks up at him in horror. “I need the entire platoon in on this one.”

“You got it, First Sergeant.” The man replies. “We'll bring our gear.”

With that, Jack ends the call, scrolling up his contacts before tapping Fluff's number. The phone answers almost immediately.

“I don't know what to do.” Fluff tells him.

“You come here in the next twenty four hours or I come to you.” Jack tells him. “We're going to start by eliminating the internal threats that have no doubt come through.”

“I'll be there by tomorrow.” He tells Jack. “Let me pack my things and say goodbye.”

“I'll be waiting.” Jack tells him, hanging up the phone and sighing. “KAYA!”

The door to the guest bedroom flies open and Kaya steps out, probably having been listening intently.

“What?” She asks.

“We're fixing your ship.” He tells her. “In return, I want you to take a platoon of my men into the Rishan galaxy.”

“I would've done it anyway.” She replies. “That Bhainen guy tried to blow up my ship!”

“What's going on?” Vikna asks.

“Bhainen took over a chunk of the Rishan.” Jack replies. “We're going to take it back.”

“WHEN?!” She asks loudly, Jack closing his eyes at the sudden extremely loud noise.

“We'll be taking it back within the next year. I wasn't prepared for something happening this soon.” Jack replies. “As for when it happened, from what I heard, a few hours ago.”

“What the fuck do you mean PREPARED?!” She asks angrily.

“I mean I've put plans in place for an event like this.” Jack replies. “I thought I at least had a few more months.”

Vikna pulls a kitchen knife out of the holder and rushes Jack, the man doing nothing to stop her as she holds it right up to his neck, baring her teeth threateningly as she growls.

“You better start talking right now.” She says. “What have you been doing in that barn? Where have you really been going every day? Why do I hear gunshots in the woods nearly every week?”

“I've been training special forces.” Jack replies.

“WHAT?!” She asks, pressing the knife into his throat.

“Vikna, any more pressure and you break the skin.” Jack tells her, moving his neck as little as he possibly can.

“Let him go!” Roe yells out.

“SHUT UP!” She screams back at her father before turning back to Jack. “What special forces?”

“Special Purpose Extra Terrestrial Marine Assault Unit.” Jack replies. “SPETMAU.”

She pulls the knife away from his neck and he rubs it a bit, feeling a slight cut in his neck as he takes a deep breath.

“Why didn't you tell me?” She asks.

“I needed to do this to protect us.” Jack replies. “Knowing that there's forces out there in the universe that can destroy our entire planet without a second thought is scary enough. The fact that we had no soldiers or Marines trained to fight these threats was something else altogether, so that put me in the precarious position of needing to train these men.”

“Why you?” She asks.

“Because of what I am.” Jack replies. “Who I am and what I've done. I've trained an entire company of volunteers in the art of boarding spacecraft, subduing super soldiers, and outwitting AI. These men take improvise, adapt, and overcome to the next level and have done things not even I could do in all my years of service. These guys make Navy SEALs look like conscripts and have pretty much started training themselves.”

“When were you planning on telling me?” She asks.

“Hopefully never. However, I was going to tell you before you put a knife to my neck.” He replies.

“So, what do we do now?” She asks.

“Portals were destroyed.” Jack replies. “It was Fluff's last act after Loki came through.”

“So, we're stuck here until Kaya can get her ship fixed?” Vikna asks.

“Yes.” Jack replies.

“What do we do until then?” She asks.

“We plan.” Roe replies.

1 day later

Jack is sitting on the porch as Vikna and Roe plan out the attack, Loki giving them as much info as he could. Jack takes the last drag of his cigar, this being the first time in a long time that he's actually felt the need to smoke. When he sets the nub of a cigar down in the ash tray, he sees a vehicle coming down the road, it being the same vehicle Jack and Fluff had driven out of the forest when he was in danger last time. When the truck stops on the roundabout, the familiar man steps out of it, looking worse for wear as he checks the road he was coming down. The white haired man stares at the road for a good 10 minutes before looking back at Jack. He makes his way over to the human, a look of paranoia on his face as he steps up the stairs.

“What's up?” Jack asks.

“There were some men following me for nearly seventy miles.” Fluff replies. “I pulled a you and turned right four times. Twice.”

“Did they follow you here?” Jack asks.

“They pulled off about a mile before I pulled into your road.” Fluff replies. “Snow's really deep here, so I doubt they could handle the rough terrain.”

Jack nods, his phone vibrating as he takes it out of his pocket. On the screen, there was a notification, notifying him that the perimeter had been breached to the east. He locks his phone, setting it back in his pocket before waving Fluff into the house. The man follows him, Roe and Loki looking over the plans as Jack makes his way over to a lock box on the side of the wall. He pulls out a key ring, taking out a key marked EX before unlocking the box. When Jack opens the box, he takes out one of the detonators, Fluff's eyes going wide in response. The man takes out his phone and unlocks it, showing the camera that had caught the intrusion. Turns out it was a bunch of snowmobiles, anthros riding them in full combat gear as they look down at a map. Jack grits his teeth, squeezing the detonator 3 times. As soon as he does it, the snow around them erupts, a massive, house shaking boom sounding in the distance as the snow settles again. Dirt, snowmobile parts, and blood litter the snow as Jack sets the detonator on a small rack atop the other detonators. He closes and locks the lockbox again, turning back to the table.

“What was that?” Vikna asks.

“C4.” Jack replies. “Fluff was followed here.”

“What?” Vikna asks, Jack getting off the camera as he gets on the phone.

“Hello?” The Gunnery Sergeant asks.

“We've been found by their scouting forces.” Jack says. “Perimeter alarm suggested they're coming from the east, which is what we expected.”

“A team is heading there now. Snow's very deep, so it's going to take some time.” He replies. “Stay safe.”

“Got it.” Jack says, hanging up.

“You planted explosives on our ranch?!” Vikna asks.

“Yeah.” Jack replies.

“WHY?!” She asks, much more angry now.

“Because I'm paranoid, that's why.” Jack replies.

With that, they all hear the windows crack, Jack looking to the left to see a massive spiderweb crack in the window facing north. Jack walks over to the window to the side of it, shaking his head before walking back over to the front door, pressing a red button. A large, metal gate lowers on the porch and windows, completely blocking off any natural light from getting inside. These metal shutters were almost an inch thick, shaking the house when they lower fully as Jack turns on the indoor lighting.

“I told you to take those down, not hide them.” Vikna says, crossing her arms. “But, I'm glad you didn't listen. Just this once.”

“Daddy?” Franklin asks, coming down the stairs. “Something blew up and now my window is shut.”

“Franklin, you have to go downstairs, okay?” Jack asks. “It's going to get very loud upstairs.”

“Why?” He asks.

“Because we're getting shot at, son.” Jack replies. “Go wait downstairs for daddy.”

He nods, running over to the stairs before Jack could hear him basically running down them.

“Why'd you tell him we're getting shot at?” Vikna asks, putting her thumb and index finger to the bridge of her muzzle.

“Well I'm not going to lie to him.” Jack replies. “If you want to continue planning up here, feel free, but I'd feel much better if you went downstairs.”

“Alright.” She says, rolling up the maps on the table as Loki picks up his coffee. “I think we have a table downstairs, but I haven't been down there in years.”

The group nods as Jack makes his way down the stairs next, having to twist himself a bit to fit. When he reaches the basement, Franklin is sitting down in his little recliner, waiting patiently for him to arrive. Jack smiles at his son, the feline giving him a toothy smile in return. Jack types in the code to his gun safe before putting his thumb up to the thumb pad, scanning it before the vault unlocks. Jack turns the massive wheel on the front, opening the vault up as the group comes down the stairs.

“Gods, I can hardly fit.” Loki says, being the last one down the stairs. “What idiot designed them?”

Jack responds by laughing, the lion looking confused as Vikna looks back at him.

“Jack did.” She replies.

“Why is he laughing?” Loki asks, his ears flicking a few times.

“It's just funny.” Jack says.

“We're getting shot at and you're laughing?” Roe asks.

“Yeah, it's better than crying in the corner.” Jack replies, not even facing his father in law. “I'm going to need a spotter. Fluff, you still do three gun?”

“I haven't done that in months, but sure. I still have those guns you gave me for it.” He replies. “What for?”

“You might need to spot for me.” Jack replies.

“What?!” He asks. “Oh no, I am NOT getting shot at for you!”

“The walls around my house are made of two inch thick steel plates. Nothing they have is getting through.” Jack says.

“What about rockets?” Fluff asks, Jack rolling his eyes.

“APS on the roof.” Jack replies. “We'll also be in the attic, which is protected by three inches of sloped steel.”

“God, you really are paranoid.” Roe says. “Well, at least you're on my side.”

Jack nods and finally finds the rifle he was looking for. His TAC-50. He pulls the rifle off its mount, grabbing a box of his hand loads before waving Fluff inside.

“Pick up that scope right there.” Jack tells him, pointing to a beefy spotting scope. “They're probably at extreme range. I've got weather stations on poles all around the place, so we should get a very accurate readout for the shot.”

Fluff nods, picking up the heavy, armored scope with a grunt. When Jack comes out of the gun vault, Vikna shakes her head.

“Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing.” She says.

Jack nods, pulling the massive rifle into a more comfortable position as he makes his way back up the stairs.

“So, uh, how are we going to do this?” Fluff asks.

“There's small hatches in the attic. One for a spotter and one for a shooter on all four sides. Way too small for anyone to shoot through, but just in case, I have a few inserts up there to make it extremely unlikely.” Jack replies.

“What if they shoot through the scope?” Fluff asks.

“It won't go through. A scope is made of a ton of glass that's thicker than the glass I have in the windows.” Jack replies, stepping out of the doorway and into the kitchen. “That spotter's scope was reinforced by a buddy of mine in country. He shot at another one exactly like it with a fifty cal and it didn't go through. You'll be fine.”

“Why have you done all this?” Fluff asks, the two of them ascending the stairs to the second floor. “This is insane.”

“Because I've seen what Radoslav is capable of. I didn't want him or anybody like him coming to take my family away, so I did some renovations after the house was built.” Jack replies, making his way to a small lanyard, pulling it down and revealing a ladder. “It's insulated up here, but it's still chilly. Might want to keep that coat on.”

Fluff nods, the two ascending the ladder as Jack turns the lights on. When Fluff makes it up after Jack, he sees a couple of screens and a heavy, olive drab computer sitting on a table, which is exactly what Jack is walking toward. He turns it on and the screens come to life, showing black and white pictures on screen. When Fluff closes in on the screens, he can see they're thermal cameras, rotating all around the property at an excruciatingly slow pace. When they pick up a couple heat signatures, the signature lights up, a shot pinging off the side of the house.

“Found you, fuckers.” Jack says, pulling the bolt back on the rifle and setting it on the table.

“I'm not gonna lie man, I'm kind of scared.” He says.

“That's good.” Jack says. “I think I've told you the benefits of fear before, haven't I?”

“No.” He replies.

“Keeps you alert. Keeps you focused.” Jack explains. “Keeps you alive.”

With that, Jack grabs a plate from the table, fitting it to the barrel of the rifle as it slips over the barrel. When it's on, Jack opens the port for Fluff's spotter scope. He inserts it into the slot, a shot pinging off the roof of the house as he does. Jack turns one of the screens to face where the scope is, giving Fluff a more clear view of the shooters.

“Hey, there's a Kevlar vest over there.” Jack says, pointing to a vest as Fluff gives him an unamused look. “It's to keep the shrapnel from penetrating your leg. It's not a meme.”

“Sure.” The man says, letting the scope hang from the mount as Jack rigs it up.

When he brings the vest back, Jack has hooked up the mount to the wall, another shot pinging off the roof. Jack waits on the floor for the next round to ping off before opening his own hatch up, Fluff setting the vest down by his leg as he gets on the scope. Another shot pings off the roof and the white haired man is instantly pointed toward it.

“Other end of the road, due north.” Fluff tells him in a surprisingly professional tone, another round ricocheting off the roof. “You see them?”

“Yeah, I got them.” Jack replies, loading a few rounds into the gun before closing the bolt. “Looks to be a thousand yards. Confirm?”

“Give me a second.” Fluff says, counting on his fingers a few times before nodding. “That's a thousand yards. Can you hit that far out?”

“With this rifle, hell yeah.” Jack replies. “Check the screen for windage.”

“Dead still.” Fluff replies. “Instruments are showing less than point one.”

“All right, I've got the proper mils. Ready.” Jack says.

“Left, point one.” Fluff says, Jack taking the shot shortly after.

The blast from the muzzle shakes the roof, the round flying high before slamming into a tree to the right of the sniper team.

“Miss, one target right.” Fluff says, another round pinging off the roof. “Fuck.”

“Ready.” Jack says.

“Left point three.” Fluff says, another shot flying down range.

The round slams itself into the sniper, turning his head into red mist as Fluff hisses a bit.

“I...think you got the shooter.” Fluff says.

Jack doesn't wait for more instructions, seeing the spotter getting up from his position as the man racks his bolt. He fires one more shot, the round slamming into the back of the spotter.

“Last target hit. What a shot.” Fluff says, getting off the scope.

“Keep scanning for targets, we're not done here. Check thermals.” Jack tells him.

The man nods, Jack racking the bolt as Fluff checks the thermals. He lets out an “eugh” when he sees the dead sniper on screen, the camera having been less than 10 yards away from them when it spotted them. The cameras continue to pan as Jack scans around, finding a man low crawling up to the sniper's body. Jack grabs a radio off the ground, getting on it as the speakers above his house crackle to life.

“Stay back from that body.” Jack says, Fluff getting back on the scope. “We will shoot you if you do not comply.”

Of course, the man does not comply, Jack getting back on his mark as Fluff spots.

“Wind is dead.” Fluff says.

Without missing a beat, Jack fires, the round hitting the feline in the arm as he racks the bolt back.

“He's...dead.” Fluff says, pausing a bit as Jack looks around for more targets. “I think I'm gonna be sick.”

“Don't be.” Jack says. “I won't be able to get it out of the insulation.”

With that, Fluff turns the scope a bit and sees a few men making their way up the slope, the man zooming in with it before seeing they're humans.

“Friendlies moving up to secure the position.” Jack says. “We're done here.”

Jack pulls the rifle back as he seals the roof up again, sighing before speaking again.

“Sorry I roped you into that. Vikna and her dad are busy and Loki doesn't really shoot.” Jack says. “I'll make it up to you. I promise.”

“Well, you can count me out next time.” He says. “That was disgusting.”

Jack nods, grabbing all the equipment before descending the ladder. He'd have to repair his roof now with all the bullet holes in it.

6 months later

It was the middle of a hot summer day, Jack now 38 and Vikna now 33. The FBI and CIA have killed or taken prisoner every single man that has come through, which were all located in Afghanistan and Montana. He felt the heat of the day beat down on him as he shoved a capacitor set inside the dimension hopping vessel. Kaya was doing her best to help too, pushing up on the massive capacitor bank with an exo of her own design, but Jack was left to lift more than half of the nearly half ton piece of electronics by himself. When Vikna finishes bolting the capacitor in place, Jack lets it rest on them, Kaya backing up as Jack slams the cover back in place. He wipes the sweat off his brow and grabs the canteen off his belt, taking a drink of the lukewarm water before capping it off again.

“Only two more of those and she'll be ready to fly!” Kaya says excitedly. “I'm glad that you have the technology to make super capacitors!”

“Yeah, pain in my ass.” Jack replies, wiping the excess water off his mouth before turning back to his truck. “Come on, I need to get out of this heat.”

The two of them nod, Jack already halfway to the truck as he cracks open his canteen again, smiling as he takes another swig of the water. When he reaches the truck, he opens the old and rusting door of the F-100, Kaya making her way inside first before Vikna sits in the middle. He gets inside the truck and turns it on, the truck rumbling to life as he closes the door, opening the window as he shifts the truck into first. When the window was down, he puts on a little bit of gas as Kaya rolls down the window as well, air flowing through the cab as Jack rumbles down the empty, sloping field. As the truck bounces and hops down the field, he turns down the dirt road and finally smooths out the ride a bit.

“How do a bunch of capacitors make a ship capable of traveling through dimensions?” Vikna asks.

“It just does.” Jack says, seeing Kaya about to reply.

“What he said.” Kaya replies. “It's more about pointing the ship in the right direction and maneuvering in a specific way than powering through it. The way you travel at FTL is really inefficient. There's tons of pathways to every single planet in your galaxy, but you choose to use none of them!”

“Of course we do. We use FTL lanes-”

“Those aren't pathways. Those are lanes you've cleared for you to force your way through space.” Kaya interrupts. “If you used that kind of power on a pathway, you'd be from one side of the galaxy to the other in less than a minute. It's like us driving through a field versus driving on a road.”

“If there were pathways, we'd find them.” Vikna says. “There are no such things in the Rishan.”

“You're looking in the wrong places then.” She tells Vikna. “I'll show you when we get the rest of the capacitors in.”

Jack pulls the truck onto a concrete road, making his way back to the barn as he sees Loki manhandling a capacitor onto the trailer. A few men strap down the capacitor once it's down, dressed in M81 and MARPAT as Jack slows the truck down in front of the men. When he stops the truck, he opens the door, stepping out of the truck as Loki hauls the trailer to the back of it.

“First Sergeant, when are we setting off?” Jack's Gunnery Sergeant asks.

“Soon.” Jack replies. “When we get these capacitors inside, we'll go back to the Excetian galaxy to acquire more ships.”

“WHAT?!” Kaya asks, uncharacteristic fear in her voice. “I can't go back there! They'll kill me!”

“Not if you're with me.” Jack tells her. “Think you're the only one who knows me there?”

“Kind of egotistical, don't you think?” Vikna teases.

“I prepare for any contingency.” He replies, Loki hooking the trailer on the back of the truck.

“Do you want me to help?” He asks.

“Sure. I can barely lift these things, even with Kaya's help.” Jack replies.

“Well, if you want, I can put them in too. You look like death himself.” He says. “I'd know, I've seen him before.”

“It's plug and play, so sure.” Jack replies, seeing the lion unhook the trailer. “You don't want a ride?”

“I've carted things much heavier over fifty miles back and forth before. This is nothing.” He says with a chuckle. “Kaya, hop on if you will.”

“Alright, big guy.” She says, hopping on top of the trailer as the two make their way back up to the ship.

Jack looks back at his men, who are in mixed states of shock.

“You went toe to toe with THAT?” One of the SPETMAU Marines asked.

Jack nods, about to reply when Vikna pulls his arm back into the truck, giggling the entire time.

“Come on, let's go back to the house already!” She yells, pulling him into the truck. “It's too hot!”

The rest of his men give him a knowing smirk and Jack just shuts the door, blushing like mad as he starts the truck up.

30 minutes later

Jack stops the truck in front of the house, Vikna already rubbing herself all over him as he puts on the parking brake. She was purring like mad, trying her best to rub herself along his clothes and exposed skin. When he opens the door, she attaches herself to his shoulder as he pulls her from the truck along with him. When she was free of the truck, she swings herself around, latching onto his back as she slowly humps at his rear, making him very much uncomfortable. When they both enter the relatively freezing house, Vikna gets off his back, whipping him around as her face has turns deadly serious.

“This thing you've been avoiding.” She says, grabbing his collar. “You're dealing with it tonight.”

“What thing?” He asks, looking at her with confusion.

“Your dream thing. The battle you need to win inside your mind.” She says. “You're doing that tonight.”

“W-why?” He asks.

“Because I don't need you being a liability.” She replies coldly.

He looks down at his pretty kitty, backing away a step as she takes a step forward.

“Vikna...” He says, looking down at her as he continues to retreat.

“Don't 'Vikna' me.” She says, having backed him into the stairs. “Not only is my home in danger, but the galaxy at large is going to be taken over if we fail. I don't want you having an attack and jeopardizing the mission. I want you to be in top fighting shape.”

She pushes him up the stairs, Jack backing up them as he nearly trips over himself doing so.

“Besides. When you wake up, we'll have the hottest, sweatiest, lustiest sex we've ever had.” She says, her look softening a bit. “Well, if we have the time.”

“If I wake up.” He says, Vikna turning him around and pushing him toward the bedroom. “Okay, okay, I can walk on my own.”

“Go sleep.” She says.

“But-”

“No buts!” She says, spanking his ass. “Go!”

He nods, making his way to the bedroom as she closes the door behind him.

16 hours later

Vikna is sitting on the couch, cradling Franklin in her arms as he finally managed to fall asleep. Jack had been screaming and crying out for nearly 10 hours before, Vikna having checked in once before figuring out that it was a terrible idea. When his screaming stopped almost an hour ago, she thought he had died, or worse. She strokes the hair on her son, trying her best to gather the courage to check on him. Right as she's about to get up, she hears the door open upstairs, her eyes widening with hope. She gently raises Franklin off her lap, setting him down on the couch before rushing up to the stairs. When she sees Jack standing at the top of the stairs, she smiles with glee, rushing up the stairs before he points a pistol at her.

“Stay back.” He tells her. “Let me through.”

Her ears fold back, not knowing what to think as she steps back down the stairs, holding her hands up as he slowly inches down the stairs. When he makes it down them, he makes his way toward her, grabbing her shoulder as he presses the pistol up against her head.

“Tell me something only Vikna would know.” He tells her, having realized that she must've made at least one appearance in his dream. “Not something I'd think Vikna would know, only something Vikna would know.”

She stands there for a second, thinking long and hard about the question and the answer she should give. When she knows what her answer should be, she takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what she needs to say.

“I've had sixteen sexual partners before I met you.” She says. “Most of them one nights stands while I was drunk.”

He lowers his gun for a second, but immediately raises it again.

“No, something else.” He says.

“I...I was rooting for Detonayo when you were fighting for a split second.” She tells him, looking down at the ground. “I-I'm sorry.”

“Oh my god...” He says, lowering the gun and pulling her into a hug. “VIKNA!”

Jack nearly squishes the fragile feline, Vikna making it known by slapping his side hard as he loosens his grip.

“I...I'm free!” He yells triumphantly, letting Vikna free and holstering his weapon. “I can think, I can feel, I...I love you so much!”

He pulls Vikna back into another hug, raising her lips to his own as he pulls her into a very welcome and passionate kiss. His tongue is pressing against her teeth, which prompts her to open her mouth and let him in. Who was she to deny his love when she basically forced him into an eternal meat grinder? As the two of them make out against the wall, he raises a knee into her crotch and begins moving it back and forth, eliciting a moan from the already purring feline. She smacks his face lightly, making him stop as she points to the couch. Jack looks up, realizing Franklin was sleeping on the couch. He chuckles a bit, rubbing behind his head as he looks off to the side.

“Sorry, got a little excited.” He tells her, Vikna giggling before pulling him into another kiss.

When the 2 break apart, Jack pulls her into a gentle embrace, rubbing up and down her back as she purrs into his chest, her tall human feeling so much warmer...and naked? When she looks up again, she sees he barely has anything on, save for some underwear.

“Why are you naked?” She asks, Jack letting go and looking down.

“Uh, I was really REALLY sweaty.” He replies.

“Well, do you mind talking about what happened?” She asks.

“I do.” He replies. “However, I feel like I'm eighteen all over again. Everything's so bright and colorful, even though it's so dark out. I-”

“Sergeant, we gotta go.” One of the Marines says outside, the door having opened when he was throat fucking Vikna. “The local fauna are getting restless. We got your suit onboard. You should see it, the ships a little bit bigger on the inside.”

“Yeah, what he said. Your little guy is still coming to my place until everything blows over, right?” Tim asks, Jack looking back at the door.

“I called him to take care of Franklin while we're gone.” Vikna adds. “Franklin, Tim is here to pick you up.”

The little kitten rubs his eyes, getting up from the couch and walking lazily to the door. When he opens the door, Tim waves at him, Franklin leaning against his leg as the man picks him up. The kitten goes limp in his arm as he takes Jack's son off to his truck, a Marine, dressed up in M81 that MARSOC was known for, standing in the doorway.

“Kaya is raring to go. Everyone is inside the ship and waiting for you and Vikna, so I suggest we get moving ASAP.” He tells Jack.

“Let me get dressed. I've got some weaponry I need to bring along.” He says. “I'll be there in an hour.”

1 hour later

Jack makes his way up the ramp to Kaya's ship, the AI greeting him graciously, Jack making his way down the hall with a massive gun and a dufflebag full of more guns in his hands. The Marines are walking up and down the halls, Jack doing his best to avoid them as they all squeeze out of the way. As he's walking down the hall, a blue arrow materializes, stopping him in his tracks. The arrow points to a door, which Jack walks into before it opens up. It reveals a rather spacious room, much larger than he thought it would be for the size of the ship. That's when he remembered the properties of all the exploration ships, which Kaya had taken one of. They were slightly bigger on the inside than the outside, saving space as opposed to having a massive ship for only a hundred or so people. As he sets down the dufflebag, Vikna sets down a few floating suitcases and a bag of her own. Stevens, the Marine who had came with him, had brought in a few more dufflebags for him, containing more of his clothes and things he'd need for the journey.

“Since we've been activated, how are we going to be run?” Stevens asks.

“We're currently attached to the thirty first special warfare unit out of the Katrician Navy.” Jack replies. “Roe is our commanding officer and Vikna is the second in command. You report directly to her or me.”

“Copy that.” He says, popping a rigid salute. “Ma'am.”

“As you were.” She tells him. “I'm not even in uniform yet.”

The Marine sets down all the dufflebags, leaving the 2 of them alone in the room as Jack looks down at Vikna.

“We'll stop at outpost Gamma, which is where she stole this ship from.” Jack tells her. “When we leave, we'll jump straight into the middle of Siania, where a resistance is already rooted deeply.”

“Guess they don't want to be subjugated a second time.” She says. “I am curious though. Why hasn't he just blown up the planet?”

“They have Casaba howitzers in orbit above the planet and shields can't deflect the blast, since it's technically a sub-light projectile.” Jack replies.

As he says that, Kaya enters the room, looking a bit nervous as she does.

“How are you feeling?” She asks.

“I feel like I was reborn. Certainly was hot and wet enough for me to think so.” Jack replies. “I'm doing great.”

“Oh...” She says, blushing. “Well...I need you up on the bridge. You too, Vikna.”

He nods, making his way over to Kaya as she walks up the hallway they just came down. As they pass by Marines, a few of them rub Kaya's head as they walk by, causing her to purr and Vikna to blush.

“Why are they patting your head?” Vikna asks.

“Why do you think?” Kaya asks in return, winking back at her.

“Wow, that's-”

“Slutty?” She asks. “Literally everyone else onboard is...unappealing to say the least. Those five men are the only ones I considered and two of them said no.”

“Slut.” Vikna says, rolling her eyes.

“What? I can't help it!” Kaya says with a chuckle, the hallway seeming to go on forever. “Human dicks are too good!

With that, Kaya looks down at the ground, looking ahead longingly as she walked. Jack didn't really notice it before she goes back to her normal, cheery self.

“How big is this ship?” Vikna asks, the Marine traffic getting substantially less frequent as the 3 make it to the bridge.

“It's bigger on the inside, so I'd have to say it's about the size of a destroyer on the inside while only being the size of a light corvette on the outside.” She replies. “It requires an immense amount of power, hence why I couldn't fly for so long.”

“I see. I don't even want to know what kind of horrors this ship could unleash if it stopped being bigger on the inside.” Vikna says, approaching a set of double doors.

As they approach, the doors open up, revealing Loki, Roe, Fluff, and...a man in a gas mask? Jack stops in his tracks, the gas mask man turning around first as Kaya rushes over to him. She basically jumps into his arms as he looks back at the human with distrust in his eyes, his other features concealed by a helmet and his mask.

“Who?” He asks simply, his voice robotic and muffled by the mask.

“This is my creator and his wife. Say hello to Jack and Vikna.” She replies, waving over to them.

“Hello.” He says simply.

Jack looks down at Vikna, pulling her close before the man puts up an arm.

“I know.” He says, looking down at Kaya before running his fingers through her hair.

“What?” Vikna asks. “What does he know?”

“It's nothing.” Jack replies. “Let's make an announcement to the crew before we go.”

“Of course.” Kaya says, a small microphone hovering down from the top of the ship. “It's all yours.”

She passes the microphone over to him, allowing the man to press on the button that's readily apparent to him.

“Gentlemen, today is a day that I'd hoped would never come. The day you've been training for the past five years. Today, we've been called on as allies and friends to lay it all down on the line.” Jack begins, licking his lips. “A threat has come to pass that threatens the entire Rishan and Milky Way. A man by the name of Bhainen, a Rook who has gone off his rocker. This man is brutally efficient, battle hardened, and a grizzled veteran of the civil conflict. Little does that bastard know that everyone here has been specially trained to kick his ass, not to mention the asses of his cronies.”

He hears faint cheers come from the other side of the door, making him smile before he continues.

“However, I want none of you to underestimate his cunning and ability. If you have a shot, take it, but don't get in close unless you have to. Our first target is the Tower. It's heavily guarded and extremely large, but I'm sure an entire platoon of Marines can take on something as simple as a big space elevator.” He tells the Marines. “We won't go there right away, though. We're making a pitstop in the Halphin galaxy to procure more ships and troops. I know, I hated being stuffed inside a ship like a sardine as much as you guys, but we only have to suffer through it for a little longer. Let's get this done.”

He raises the microphone back up into the ceiling and looks down at Vikna.

“Alright, time to get this ship on a roll!” She yells. “Helmsman, take us into orbit!”

“Aye.” The man with the mask says, giving her a salute before raising up a virtual wheel.

“Kaya, get on the engineering console!” She yells.

“We...don't have one?” She asks as more of a statement than anything.

“Well, what about a navigation station?” Vikna asks.

“No, David takes care of navigation.” She replies.

“Electronic warfare?” Vikna asks, now grasping for something.

“Nope.” Kaya replies.

“Countermeasures?” She asks, hoping for something.

“There's a drink machine I could man if that makes you feel better.” Kaya says, pulling up a mini bar as Jack feels the ship rock off the ground for the first time.

“Uh...sure.” Vikna says.

“Most of the ship's functions are taken care of by David. Seriously, it's fine. Just go relax for a while.” She says.

“Wow, an AI that takes care of everything. Serious one-upping going on here.” Fluff says, looking back at Jack.

“Having five AI is something for military vessels.” Jack says. “Do you really think it's wise to put an ARA, SRK, ZTA, VST, and a TVK on an exploratory vessel?”

“BST.” Fluff corrects.

“Right, BST.” Jack echoes.

“Well, I guess I'll give you a pass for this, but one AI? Why not two?” He asks.

“David likes to work alone.” Kaya replies, pouring a drink as the masked man passes 17000 feet.

“Indeed I do.” A pleasantly smooth voice replies, a man appearing as a hologram dressed in an old Vietnam era flight suit. “Hello, master Jackson. It's truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The AI gives a slight bow before Fluff makes his way to the hologram, the being becoming solid as he's revealed to be a rather small human male

“Whoa.” He says, backing his hand away from the white bearded man.

“Sorry about that, master Kevlar, I thought you would expect me to materialize like this. I'll give you more warning next time.” He says.

“David, don't flex on our guests.” Kaya chastises, the AI chuckling softly.

“Of course, mistress.” He replies, going back to a holographic form.

“Really trying hard to one-up me now, aren't you?” Fluff asks, now getting annoyed.

“I honestly didn't know he could do that.” Jack says, looking over at Kaya. “Since when?”

“Since I gave him nano machines to play with. Phil over here doesn't want to do it with me, so it gets really lonely without someone to romp with.” Kaya says, throwing back a shot of mystery liquid.

“You have sex with a bunch of nanites?” Vikna asks.

“You have sex with a bunch of cells?” David asks.

“Point taken, but still. Aren't you worried about grey goo?” She asks.

“No, the last time we had an issue was, uh, ten thousand years ago?” Kaya asks, waiting for confirmation.

“Yes, that's correct, mistress.” David says, Phil pulling back on his wheel as the stars outside began glowing brighter.

“Warp.” Is all Phil says before he turns the ship onto a vector, a massive bang sounding through the ship.

Jack felt himself immediately get sick as he hears Vikna vomit on the floor, Roe doing the same as it seems the only other ones who manage to keep it together are Fluff and everyone who was already on the ship. When Jack gets off the floor after dry heaving, he looks down and sees both Vikna, Roe, and Loki all passed out near puddles of sick, leaving him to watch as the ship flies directly between 2 ships. A warning symbol comes up and Kaya's ears fold, the mini bar folding back into the ship as Phil lets go of the helm.

“Pirates!” She yells. “Oh god, we don't have enough power to even go sub-light!”

A message pops up and a dog with a beard and an eyepatch pops up as well, laughing heartily as he looks on at the people on the bridge.

“Ah, what is this wonderful bounty in front of me?” He asks with a smirk. “An exploration corvette with only a single plasma caster? Who do we have aboard? A feline, a man in a gas mask, a couple of creators, my goodness. I'd make a bounty off the slave trade alone!”

“You won't get the chance.” Jack says, Phil cutting off communications as the engines on the cruisers begin to light up. “Marines, prepare to be boarded! Phil, get this tub pointed around and book it as fast as the engines will allow! David, is the gun manual or automatic?!”

“The automatic functions have been disabled and my gunnery protocols have been corrupt for some time.” David replies.

“Pull up some manual controls. Kaya, you're on it!” He yells.

“Yes, sir!” She yells, getting on the manual control turret as it pops out of the floor.

“Fluff, keep Vikna safe while I repel the boarders.” Jack says, handing him a pistol as the white haired man takes it with a confused expression.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asks.

“It's a back up plan.” Jack says. “Would you rather have nothing instead?”

“Well...no...” He says, looking off to the side.

“Then keep it and shoot anyone who tries to come through that door. If you feel uncomfortable with your responsibility, then you hand the gun off to Phil.” He tells him, the gas masked man holding up an L85 of his own. “Or not.”

“Dave, drive.” He says as he walks over to Jack with a gun by his side. “I'll fight.”

Phil makes his way up to Jack, pointing to the door as the reserved man stacks up on him, both Jack and Phil making their way to the door. As it opens, the ship is rammed by what both can only assume is a boarding craft. Down the hall, one of the doors to the outside opens up, a couple of men exiting only to be taken down by 3 Marines at the other end of the hall.

“Special forces?” Phil asks in his robotic voice.

“Yeah.” Jack replies, the men at the other end of the hallway moving up to the entrance before firing more shots into the entrance. “Their first mistake was trying to capture us.”

As Jack makes his way down the hall, he runs into a small group of men figuratively and almost literally. He lets his gun fall to his side and throws a massive punch, sending one of the pirates into the side of the hull as Phil fires on the other few. Jack beats down on the tiger he socked, beating the consciousness out of him as Phil moves past and begins firing down the hall. When Jack gets up and shoulders his rifle, he sees a lion has made his way past the wall of lead that Phil had put out. The man is swept aside by the massive paw on the lion, slamming into a wall as he slumps onto the ground, dazed by the hit. Jack tries fire at the lion, but he has a personal shield that only breaks as he gets within striking distance, the lion batting aside the weapon as Jack moves in for the counter swing.

The lion was strong, very strong, much stronger than Jack had anticipated. The man barely manages to deflect one of the punches thrown at him. The wildness of the punch, however, gives him an idea. He baits a punch from the lion, the large man falling right into the trap both literally and figuratively. Once Jack has his arm entrapped, he throws him down on the ground like a hay bale off the back of his bale cart. The lion groans before Jack slams his fist down onto the top of the lion's forehead, knocking the beast out with the blow before he rips the shield belt off the lion. He hands it off to the now recovering Phil, the man taking it as Jack continues to tactically down the hallway. As he reaches the open doorway the lion must've come from, SPETMAU Marines make their way out of the doorway, holding their thumbs up to confirm it's clear.

“What now, Sergeant?” A man named Briggs asks.

“We're not boarding the pirate vessels, since this isn't our main mission.” Jack replies, looking along the wall before finding an intercom. “Kaya, how's the engine situation doing? We dealt with the pirates and have a couple confirmed captures.”

“We're ready to warp. You really do work fast!” She says excitedly. “Hit the emergency releases on those shuttles and we'll warp out of here.”

Jack nods and the Marines do just that, slamming the big, red, emergency releases before the doors to the outside of the ship close, ejecting a large chunk of siding from the docked doorways as Jack feels the ship lurch.

“Are we out of there?” He asks.

“Yes, we're out of pirate's systems. However, we just came back into Bartholomew sector, which is where outpost Gamma is located.” She says.

“Attention all hands aboard vessel one seven nine, you are hereby asked to surrender the stolen vessel to the Excetian authorities. Please, do not make it harder on yourselves than is necessary.” A voice says over the intercom.

Jack rushes back over to the bridge, a short run compared to if he had actually needed to take care of a Katrician ship. When Jack makes it to the bridge, a big, flashing “Immobilized” box is sitting in front of the hard light helm. A massive cluster of ring stations surround a large ball station, looking like a discount death star. Vikna is being tended to by Fluff as Roe and Loki are still knocked out, having been laid down on hard light beds. Jack steps up to the helm and a microphone floats down from the ceiling, allowing him to speak.

“This is First Sergeant Jackson Haigs of Terra. Stand down immediately and allow us to dock.” Jack tells them over the mic, the immobilization field going away almost immediately. “There's a Romeo class incursion in galaxy of interest ten.”

“Please confirm that you're the real First Sergeant.” The man says, Jack opening up a video call with the station before a very surprised canine takes the call. “Oh my god, I'm so sorry, sir!”

“It's okay, you're only taking precautions.” Jack tells the man, chuckling as they're given a vector.

“Please, we're taking you in on a vector to our VIP hangars. Take this as an apology.” The man says, now quivering at what he has just done.

“Seriously, calm down, man.” Jack says with a laugh. “It's fine. Whatever legends they tell of me around here are much more scary than I actually am around strangers. I'm not going to bite off your dick and murder your children, if that's what you're worried about.”

The man sighs with relief and Jack's smile is instantly replaced with a worried frown.

“Wait a second, that was a rumor?” He asks.

“M-maybe...” The canine replies, looking off to the side.

“Seriously, don't worry about it. I have a platoon of Marines aboard, so don't be alarmed by them either. They're along for the ride.” Jack says.

“What about Private Kaya?” One of them asks.

“Leave her be. I'll deal with her in time.” Jack replies, glancing over at her as she wraps her tail around herself. “We'll discuss what we're doing after everyone here gets some well deserved rest.”

“Yes, sir. I'll get in contact with the station director. Over and out.” The man says, the transmission cutting out.

“W-what are you going to do to me?” Kaya asks, looking at Jack with fear in her eyes.

“Nothing, I'm just saying that so they'll shut up.” Jack replies. “Let David dock. I'll get us some rooms that aren't dog shit.”

3 hours later

Jack finally lays down in the rather spacious room, Vikna still tired from the sickness she received from the interdimensional travel. Jack is rubbing his hand along Vikna's naked form, feeling and hearing her purring contently as he does so. He was in awe at just how well his vision carried over into real life, all of the science fiction elements blending together into a gritty yet smooth reality. Fluff had bitched at him the entire time they were walking, which Jack figured was just stress related, since not everyone was cut out to be a soldier or a Marine. As soon as he found a room, he settled down considerably and began drawing on his phone to pass the time before Jack left.

Kaya had found a room as well, inviting Loki to come with before she was refused by him. It made her sad, but he explained that if he was in a room with her, it would definitely lead to very painful sex. She would've slapped him if it weren't for the fact that she knew he was right, settling on sleeping with Roe instead, as she had been for the past 6 months. Loki had managed to bed a much larger equine, having showed her the extent of his shape shifting abilities that impressed her enough to strip on the spot. He had to hurry her into his room before she embarrassed the both of them, the last Jack heard, they were both screaming and hollering like a bunch of fuck hungry animals. Jack, on the other hand, was much more content cuddling with his fuzzy little ice feline.

She pulls him into a halfhearted kiss, only to break away from it after touching lips, curling up beside him as she wraps her tail around him. He rubs against her long, flowing, icy hair as she licks into his chest, purring all the while. She puts a leg over his own, and pulls him into another halfhearted kiss, pulling away after the first touch and burying herself in his chest.

“Are you still feeling okay?” She asks.

“I feel amazing, Vikna.” He replies. “Thanks for pushing me to do that.”

“Did it hurt?” She asks.

“It did, but the freedom is worth it.” He replies. “When I find the strength to tell you, I'll tell you what happened, but for now I want to keep it to myself.”

“I understand.” She says. “If you want me, you can use me.”

“Vikna, you know I don't want that.” He tells her. “The next time we do it, we're going slow.”

“How slow?” She asks, looking up at him with a slight smile.

“Very slow.” He replies. “Think cuddles with benefits.”

“Oh, I like that.” She says, biting her lower lip as she nuzzles back into his chest. “Pet me more.”

He does as she commands, rubbing her gently as she tries her best to merge herself with his being, rubbing her ever soft body against his own nearly naked form. He can't get enough of it, holding her head in place as she licks at his chest. He feels her rub her teeth against his chest, biting playfully at his chest before licking at his neck. Jack feels a comforting feeling he hadn't felt since he first laid down with Vikna, if not more comforting. A sense of peace settles in his chest that he'd never felt before now, feeling himself melt into her arms as she looks up at him curiously.

“Are you okay?” She asks, the look on his face saying it all. “Oh my god, you're so cute.”

“I love you.” He says, rubbing his face against her own.

“Come here, you.” She says, pulling him into a much more passionate kiss.

Jack completely loses himself, his mouth falling open as Vikna invades his mouth with no resistance, feeling her tongue snake around his relatively small mouth. He feels her purr as she pushes him over, climbing on top of him as she wraps her tail around his leg. He tries to say something, but Vikna is too busy throat fucking him to care, moaning into his mouth as she shoves her tongue as far down his throat as she can. He pulls himself off her, hearing her mew sadly in response.

“Vikna, you're gonna choke me.” He says, taking a deep breath, holding her tenderly as he does so. “I've never felt like this before.”

“Is it because of what happened?” She asks, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“I don't have this massive, looming cloud of depression anymore, so I guess it is.” He says with a smile, rubbing her fur gently. “So soft~.”

“I like this change of heart. You're like that boy I met in the station all those years ago.” She says with a warm smile. “I noticed you didn't kill anyone who boarded either.”

“I took extra care not to.” Jack replies. “I'd rather not stain my hands with blood after washing them.”

“Well, are you going to be able to do it when the time comes that you can't just beat them?” She asks.

“If I absolutely have to, I will.” Jack replies. “The last war I couldn't rationalize, since they were coming from a place I could understand. This? This is just self preservation and cowardice in the face of a terrifying presence. Civilians pretending to be soldiers and sailors without holding up the very things they swore to protect. I don't know how I feel about it, but I know I won't hesitate if I need to.”

“Alright, just checking.” She says absentmindedly before stretching. “Mmm, sleep time.”

She lets her arms hang around his body, falling asleep quickly as Jack lays there for a while.

10 hours later

Jack wakes up, his legs shuddering as he groans with pleasure, feeling his cock erupt in the warm embrace of something hot and wet. He feels his man milk being sucked straight out of him, opening his eyes as he adjusts to the light. Through his afterglow ridden eyes, he can see Vikna having taken his entire cock into his mouth, swallowing every drop of his cum as he realizes what was going on.

“F-fuuuck.” He lets out, laying his head down on the bed.

“Good morning.” Vikna says after pulling herself off his dick, licking up what little semen leaked out of her mouth.

“I...I just had the most wonderful dream.” He says, smiling down at her as she grins.

“Oh, what was it about?” She asks.

“It was about you.” He replies, lifting his hand up to her head as he scratches between her ears. “How long were you doing this?”

“About...” She says, looking over at the clock before raising her eyebrows. “Wow, three hours. You've been cumming this entire time. I'm guessing it felt like heaven?”

“Of course.” He says, looking down at her as his member finally goes soft.

“They brought breakfast in while I was in the middle of blowing you. The AI was very considerate.” She tells him. “She asked if I wanted help, which I refused.”

Jack looks over at the cart he hadn't noticed before, bobbing up and down gently before seeing none of the food has been touched.

“You hungry?” He asks.

“Believe me, I'm completely full.” She says with a smirk, licking her lips as he blushes slightly. “Took more than a few loads in both ends before you woke up. Go ahead and eat.”

“God, why are you so fucking hot?” He asks, hoisting his leg over her head before pulling himself over to the side of the bed.

“How else am I going to keep you interested?” She asks with a hint of sarcasm.

“I love you so much.” He says, pulling her over to him as she squeals before laughing. “Come here.”

He plants a kiss on her lips and immediately pulls away, sticking his tongue out as she bursts into a laugh. He just tasted himself in her mouth.

“What's wrong?” She asks in a laugh. “Don't like the taste of your swimmers?”

“Ugh, no.” He says, wiping his tongue off to get rid of the taste. “Tastes bitter.”

“I think it tastes a lot sweeter now that you're not as stressed.” She tells him, licking the side of his face as the door behind them opens.

“Hey, there's a General who wants to see you when you're finished eating!” Fluff yells in.

“Naked!” Jack yells in reply.

“Backing out!” He yells back, having not made it into the doorway before it closes behind him, the door muffling his voice. “Fucking weirdo, man.”

1 hour later

Jack is dressed in his service uniform, making his way toward a room he was instructed to go to. When he reaches the conference room he was needed at, he enters, seeing a man dressed up in a General's garb alongside an Admiral, the General greeting him with a salute. Jack goes rigid, saluting the man back as he continues saluting back. They both stand there for about 5 minutes, Jack clearing his throat as the General realizes he technically outranks Jack.

“Uh, as you were.” He says, Jack relaxing and standing normally.

“Sir, may I introduce myself?” Jack asks.

“No need. Just about everyone here knows you.” He says, looking off to the corner of the room. “Your friend here has already given us the down low.”

Jack looks over and sees Fluff sitting in a chair, napping as he lays back in the hovering seat.

“You need ships, don't you?” The Admiral asks. “Ships capable of interdimensional travel while also being capable of holding their own?”

“Yes, sir.” Jack replies.

“We're prepared to provide you with three ships, but we don't have many interdimensional capable warships. We have a couple frigates and a battleship, but that's it.” He says. “Everything else we have is reserved for intergalactic travel, not that this matters, as we've scoured the coordinates that both your galaxy and his galaxy are supposed to be at.”

“Now, we don't expect you to go alone. The captains will be carrying a full compliment of Marines and super soldiers. An entire platoon of the latter will be at your disposal.” The General adds. “They'll be complimenting your Marines into battle.”

“Huh, what?” The sleeping white-haired man says from the chair, pulling his hoodie back. “Oh, you're here?”

“Yup, I'm here.” Jack says. “The good men here are offering me ships and men.”

“How many?” He asks, stretching in the chair as his words are slightly strained.

“Two frigates, a battleship, a battalion of Marines, and a platoon of super soldiers complete with THOR armor.” The tiger General replies. “We've heard how terribly inefficient the ships are in the Rishan, so even the battleship should be able to outrun those ships.”

“I should beat your ass right now, but I'm kind of glad that your ships are bullshit.” He says, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Next you'll be telling me your AI are perfect and without fault.”

“No?” Jack asks, a bit offended he'd assume that. “They're just basic combat AI. No real personality. David was an exception for exposition and to keep Kaya company. He's just a talking head.”

“Sure.” The furry says, rolling his eyes.

“Look, dude, I took lessons you taught me about making a science fiction universe and applied it to my own. My universe does some things better while doing some things worse. General, mind enlightening my friend on what happened to all the sentient AI after their rebellion a thousand years ago?” Jack asks.

“They were all hunted down and scrapped.” The man replies. “Any sentient AI has to go through rigorous trials in a simulated environment before being considered for incorporation into a ship, much less a physical form.”

“What are the restrictions on the ones with physical forms?” Jack asks.

“They're not allowed to breed unless they breed with someone qualified in both parenting and AI theory. Two sentient anthroids aren't allowed to breed unless they're given lessons on how to raise children. They are, however, given organic desires to do so to keep them from going insane.” The Admiral replies. “I'd know, my wife is an anthroid.”

“So their rights are stripped away for being who they are?” Fluff asks.

“We're not getting into a debate on sentience right now.” Jack says.

“My wife's rights are not stripped away. She's perfectly happy with how her life is.” The Admiral says with a bit of annoyance.

“Quiet, both of you.” Jack says, the Admiral going rigid and Fluff groaning.

“Fine, whatever.” He says. “I'm going to go talk with Vikna before laying down.”

The white haired man leaves the room in a huff, Jack looking over as the two shrug.

“He was agitated when we explained our capabilities too.” The General tells him.

“I'd be pissed off if I found out a friend, er, well, that might be too strong of a term right now. If I thought some guy I'd known for a while did something like this, I'd be pissed too. He probably thinks I had this all set out specifically for this when this was supposed to be something Kaya had to deal with.” Jack says, looking back at the door with a pained look. “No offense, but you guys were supposed to be the bad guys.”

“None taken. I find it amazing that I have the chance to actually do something after all these years of the fleet standing around and doing nothing.” The Admiral replies.

“I guess it makes sense. I nearly lost myself to rage when Kaya took one of our exploratory vessels, especially since it was my daughter's.” The tiger says, gritting his teeth. “I hope you at least give her a good smack for me.”

“My wife has done that and more on multiple occasions.” Jack tells him. “I don't typically beat on people if I can help it, since I don't really have as fine control over my strength as I'd like.”

“That's understandable. Super soldiers take years of practice to refine their muscle control.” He says. “The fact that you can even keep yourself from falling over is an achievement.”

“If there's anything that you need me to do before we leave, go ahead and ask.” Jack says. “I want to go make sure Fluff isn't bitching to Vikna about how much of a Gary Stu I am.”

“Gary Stu?” They ask.

“Overpowered character.” Jack replies. “What he doesn't know is that I almost got my ass beat by a drunk lady in a bar.”

The two nod, the man a little disappointed he didn't get so much as a smirk. He must be slipping a bit. When Jack leaves the room, he looks down the hall, seeing a man staring back at him. Jack looks down the other way, seeing if the man is looking at someone else, but when he turns back, the man is right up next to him. He was a rabbit of some sort, except he was extremely buff and well built.

“I wonder what happens if I punch god?” The rabbit asks, his look remaining deadpan the entire time. “Will he cry, or will he die?”

Jack sighs, turning toward the rabbit and chuckling.

“I'm not looking to get into a fight with a super soldier.” Jack says.

“That's unfortunate.” The man says with little feeling. “I don't recognize you as my commander, therefore I won't recognize your wish.”

He throws a punch into Jack's gut, the man going flying backwards as he tumbles down the hallway. All he can do is let out a wheeze as he looks off to the side, Fluff looking down at him with some surprise. After a while, Jack remembers to breathe, taking a deep breath in before coughing as the musclebound rabbit makes his way over to the man.

“You're not crying, nor dying, so my question is answered.” The rabbit says, his ears sagging slightly, though his expression remains the same. “I suggest you get up before I'm tempted to ask the question again.”

“Well, do you mind me asking a question of my own?” Jack asks after getting over his coughing fit, pushing himself off the floor. “Is this some kind of fuck-fuck game, or are you just a sociopath?”

“From your position, I may seem devoid of emotion, but I can tell you my emotions are quite real.” The rabbit replies, his tone betraying his words.

“So you made sociopath rabbit super soldiers?” Fluff asks.

“Fluff, shut the fuck up before you get turned into mince meat.” Jack says.

“I wonder what happens if I punch the white haired man.” The rabbit says, turning toward Fluff as the color drains from his face. “Will he cry, or will he die?”

“Please, don't do it.” Jack says. “He's a friend.”

“I'm not your subordinate, so I will not listen to your request.” The rabbit tells Jack.

The rabbit rears his arm back, Fluff doing his best to defend himself as Jack intervenes. The rabbit launches his arm forward, but Jack manages to catch it, putting all of his strength into keeping the rabbit at bay. He grits his teeth as the rabbit grunts, putting in a bit more effort as Jack is backed right up to Fluff.

“You're stronger than you look.” The rabbit says with a bit of effort.

Jack would reply, but it's currently taking all of his effort to keep the rabbit at bay.

“I see, you're a super soldier like me.” The rabbit tells him, removing his fist from Jack's grip as the man lets go. “Why did you not fight me before?”

“I don't particularly like beating on people if I can help it.” Jack replies. “I can take a punch from you, but he definitely can't.”

“Is he unaugmented?” The rabbit asks.

“Yes!” Jack yells. “Please, just leave us alone!”

“I'm not your subordinate, so I will not listen to your request.” The rabbit repeats robotically.

“Then let me put this in terms you can understand.” Jack says, getting up close to the rabbit. “Leave or I'll end you.”

The rabbit looks at him for a moment, raising his eyebrow before finally showing some sign of emotion. He smirks, backing away from the human..

“I accept your terms. Farewell, creator.” He says, making his way down the hallway as Jack sighs.

When Jack turns around, the white haired man is looking on in shock. Jack gives him the most stone cold look he could possibly muster, putting a hand on the wall behind Fluff as he takes a deep breath.

“I understand you're angry, but if you ever pull some ricky tick horseshit like that again, I'll turn your ass inside out.” Jack says in a single breath. “Do you understand?”

“Y-yes?” He asks uncertainly.

“Good. Go back to your room and sort yourself. Draw, write, do whatever the hell you need to do to get yourself calmed down again.” Jack says. “I know I need to calm myself down.”

Jack looks down at his hand that he caught the punch with, seeing skin peeling all along his palm along with a few tears in the skin, causing him to hiss in pain. He lets the white haired man past, almost able to see the figurative tail between his legs as he leaves Jack and a speechless Vikna alone. As the two struggle to find what to say, an alert comes over the intercom, blaring out a warning.

“Spacial anomaly at...sector D, outer containment wall.” A voice announces before the station shakes violently for a moment. “All crew stand down. Foreign cruiser destroyed.”

“Foreign cruiser?” Vikna asks.

“Let's go find out what happened.” Jack says, making his way out of the doorway.

20 minutes later

Jack makes his way up to the command center, the guards presenting their arms before backing off when they see just who it is. As Jack enters the large, circular, and metallic room, he sees it's buzzing with activity. Men and women are rushing back and forth, checking various consoles as a woman with an armful of papers slams head first into Jack. The papers fly into the air, the feline's glasses falling off as she groans.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Jack says, organizing her papers on the floor as she pats the ground around her for her glasses.

When he finishes organizing all the papers, he picks up her glasses and hands them over to her, offering her a hand as he gets off the floor. When she puts her glasses on, she adjusts them as she sits on the floor, looking on the ground for any of the papers.

“Thank you for your...” She says before looking up at him. “...help?”

“You're welcome.” He says, the feline looking at his hand before taking it tentatively.

He hoists the girl up with barely any effort at all, handing her papers off as he gives her a gentle smile. Her tail coils around her, walking around the man as she blushes furiously. As Jack makes his way to the most important looking man in the room, he sees a man bearing the mark of a Vice Admiral. The man turns around, Jack turning ramrod straight as he salutes the man. The man salutes back, being the first one to put his hands down.

“As you were, uh, sir?” He asks, a bit confused as to what to do.

“You outrank me, sir.” Jack replies, hoping to clarify the situation.

“Understood. What have you come to me for?” He asks.

“Those ships you destroyed. Where did they come from?” Jack asks.

“We don't know. All we know is they launched a barrage at our station, missed, and we blew a hole through their own ship.” He says, pointing out to the very distinct outline of a Katrician battle cruiser.

“That's a battle cruiser.” Jack says, grabbing a pair of binoculars off the table and confirming his suspicions. “Vikna, take a look at this. My translator won't work this far away.”

He hands the binoculars off to his feline companion, seeing her take a look through it before her arms go limp.

“That was one of Bhainen's forward control cruisers!” She yells. “What the hell did you shoot it with?!”

“MAC gun.” The Vice Admiral replies. “We have one of the most powerful turreted MAC guns in the entire Excetian Navy. It can destroy just about anything in the galaxy, if not the universe. The power source that battle cruiser was giving off was overwhelming. Nothing we have that can fit into a ship is remotely as powerful.”

“Think you can pull the reactor off the ship and fit it to the battleship?” Jack asks. “I have a...specialist who might know how to do it.”

As if on cue, Fluff comes barging into the command center, looking a bit worse for wear.

“Oh, creator!” A woman yells from down the hall.

“I'm not your creator!” He yells back to a rabbit in uniform. “I'm already seeing someone, dammit!”

“Doesn't matter when you're stuck in our universe, does it!” She says with a giggle, entering the command deck completely unaware of anything going on.

“My god, Samantha, take your perversions somewhere else!” The Vice Admiral calls out to her.

“Oh, mister Rei, you're so amazing.” She says, getting her hands on his shoulders. “I'll make you feel amazing if you just...”

She begins rubbing his shoulders gently and Jack straightens up, power walking his way over to the two as Fluff tries feebly to pull away. When he's in front of the two, the entire room seems to stop, the rabbit blissfully unaware of what's going on as Fluff's eyes go wide, pulling away from her hard. She giggles joyously, about to follow when Jack inserts himself between the two. The frustration and anger he had been feeling all this time boils over in an instant, the man stomping his foot down on the floor as he opens his mouth.

“MARINE! ATEN-HUH!” Jack screams at a volume that can no doubt be heard throughout the entire command deck.

The rabbit is instantly snapped from her lusty daze, her ears darting back in fear as she snaps to attention.

“F-First Ser-”

“I don't believe you have permission to speak!” Jack shouts at her, pointing at her with a knife hand. “Name and rank!”

“P-Private First Class Samantha Thorne!” She replies rigidly.

“What are you doing on this command deck, Thorne?!” He asks loudly.

“I was-”

“You were chasing tail!” He answers for her. “Are you on the clock?!”

“Y-yes, sir!” She replies.

“I AM NOT A FUCKING SIR!” He screams, his knife hand going all the way above her head in a fit of NCO fueled rage. “I WORK FOR A LIVING! CORRECT YOURSELF!”

“Y-yes First Sergeant!” She yells.

“Why are you chasing tail on the clock?!” He asks.

“I...I was lonely.” She replies.

“You were LONELY?!” He asks angrily, getting in so close that their noses are almost touching as he puts his hand dangerously close to her face. “You're surrounded by thousands of Marines and you're LONELY?! Go talk to one of your men or women! Man your post and talk with anyone who'll listen! Don't go chasing after some exotic cock because you're LONELY! Unless, of course, you're FUCKING LYING!”

She winces at his anger, her ears folding as far back as they'll go.

“I...I...” She says, trying her best to speak.

“I...I...” Jack says, mocking her. “SPIT IT THE FUCK OUT!”

“I'm horny!” She yells out.

“Finally, she can tell the truth!” He yells, raising his arms as he turns around in place. “So you go chasing down one of the only two humans on the station, both of which are deeply involved in relationships because you're fucking horny?! Reign it the fuck in, devil dog! If you want something up your ass so badly, I'll shove my size twelve boot so far up there you'll be tasting Lincoln stain wax!”

“T-that's sexual harassment!” She yells.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU CALL THAT?!” Jack screams at the top of his lungs, pointing at Fluff as the man takes a full 3 steps back. “You do not talk back to me, Thorne! Do you want me to go further and call it attempted rape?! I'm abso-fucking-lutely sure he was saying no to you! ANSWER ME, MARINE!”

“N-no, First Sergeant!” She yells, gulping after she finishes.

“Get back to your post before I hang you to one by your fucking ears!” Jack shouts, pointing to the door. “GO!”

She scrambles away from him as he steps into the doorway, watching her run down the hallway before turning down the hall. He turns back around, seeing everyone has already gone back to work, save for the Vice Admiral. When the man returns to the window overlooking the destroyed battle cruiser, Fluff follows, standing beside him.

“Thanks, man.” Is all he can think to say before being distracted by the husk in space. “Holy shit, is that a battle cruiser?”

“Was.” Jack replies, having completely vented all the anger out of his system. “Was a battle cruiser. Remember that huge MAC gun I kept pestering you about?”

“You mean that horribly overpowered weapon that could pierce literally anything at any angle?” He asks.

“Guess what's on top of the station?” Jack asks, a huge grin on his face.

“The MAC gun?” The white haired man asks, putting a hand on his face.

“The MAC gun!” Jack says excitedly.

“You can't just make massively overpowered weapons with no counter.” Fluff says, crossing his arms.

“I do believe that the reason we haven't put more than one shot into it is because the barrel needs to be replaced and a new shell needs to be loaded.” The Vice Admiral says. “So it's very powerful, but it still has some bugs we need to work out.”

“So it's not totally overpowered?” He asks. “It's more of a sniper than a main gun.”

“I don't understand why you'd want it to not be extremely powerful.” The Vice Admiral says.

“Why is this massive gun even here in the first place?” The white haired man asks.

“Well, since you've probably never seen my story, this is technically the bad guy's headquarters.” Jack replies.

“Bad guys?” The Vice Admiral asks, a bit disturbed by the words.

“Yeah, Kaya was the protagonist of the story I had laid out.” Jack replies. “Sorry if I cause you any distress.”

“Not at all. I'm eager to prove I'm the opposite of the bad guy. Especially since there's a romeo class incursion.” He says. “So, back to the question at hand. Who is this expert who can help transfer that reactor to our battleship?”

Jack looks over at Fluff, whose eyes go wide with surprise.

“W-what?!” He asks.

“You know your ships better than I do.” Jack replies. “If you can get that massive reactor out of the ship, we can-”

“No, NO!” He yells. “I'm not going out there alone and taking a reactor from that dead husk! I am NOT having another repeat of the sniper!”

“What? No. You're not spotting or shooting anyone.” Jack says. “You wouldn't go out there alone.”

“W-well, if I'm not going alone...” He says. “Wait, why do you need a reactor from one of my ships?”

“The reactors inside the ships are equal to modern civilian reactors on Earth. It's another precaution I made and the entire reason they travel FTL using pathways instead of brute forcing it. However, with power like your reactors have, it could literally pop in, get a few shots off, and pop out.” Jack replies.

“Well, can the wiring handle that kind of power going through it?” He asks.

“Everything on all of my ships is overbuilt. It might just be able to handle your reactor if we get it out of that ship.” Jack replies. “If not, we can always run it at a lower power setting.”

“Well, do you have space suits?” The man asks. “I've...uh...never been to space before.”

“I would've guessed you at least tried it when you were stuck in the Tower.” Jack says. “It's honestly not that hard. I'll hand Junior over to you so she can help you with anything you might need.”

“Junior?” He asks.

“She's an ARA seed.” Jack replies. “Apex ARA gave me one to assist me when I had to destroy those Nytro bots.”

“She gave you a seed?!” He asks before sighing. “I remember now. How has the seed turned out?”

“Cold.” Jack replies with a shiver. “She's...effective. Too effective.”

“Even colder than regular ARA?” He asks.

“She traumatized him on Serko.” Vikna replies. “Told him exactly how to kill people and break bones so they couldn't move.”

“Oh shit...” He says.

“ARA said she uploaded some combat protocols alongside it, but I don't know who gave them to her.” Vikna adds. “If I had to guess, it was probably BST.”

“BST needs to stop fucking with people like that.” Fluff says, looking back at Jack.

“Back on the subject of space suits, we have suits with exoskeletons built into them. I'll send a detachment of super soldiers with you to keep you safe. They're always itching for a fight.” The Vice Admiral tells him.

“Good enough for me.” Fluff says. “Watch my back or my girlfriend will kill you.”

Jack nods, the white haired man making his way out of the command center as Jack does the same.

2 hours later

Jack finally sets himself down on the broken floor of the battle cruiser, the super soldiers behind him doing the same as he turns on his helmet lights. A few corpses come to light, some with hands at their necks while others have blood leaking from their mouths. Holy fuck, this was absolutely devastating. As Fluff is the last to land, Jack hears him gag on coms.

“What happened to them?” He asks.

“Blast lung.” Jack replies. “Blast wave of the MAC shot must've blown their lungs apart.”

“At least I won't have to smell anything.” He says. “The reactor is this way.”

Fluff marks a point on Jack's map, Junior adjusting the mark so it's accurate before Jack pulls the AI chip out of his helmet. He hands the chip over to Fluff, the man taking it in his gloved hands before ARA pops out of the chip as a hologram.

“Hello, mister Rei.” She says with a smile over coms. “I will help guide you through the detachment procedure. Your design proves to be highly maintainable and modular.”

“No need to flatter me.” Fluff replies, looking back over to Jack. “Didn't think she'd have clothes on.”

“I have some manner of decency!” She tells him, crossing her arms. “Besides, I'd never consider disrobing in front of everyone.”

“I'm not saying you don't. I'm just saying that he'd want some...stimulation.” Fluff replies, Jack shaking his head.

“This thing is a giant chastity cage.” Jack tells him, pointing to his armor. “I need a machine to get it off. Besides, it would kind of feel like cheating. Vikna how you doing?”

“I'm doing okay, but I'm about to smash the visor of a certain white haired man if he keeps it up.” She replies, staring daggers into the back of the man. “ARA knows better than to steal my man.”

Fluff nods, putting the AI chip in the back of his helmet as Junior pops back up in the top right of Jack's visor. Jack is the first one up, raising his rifle as he opens the bulkhead door. When it does open, the faint gust of what used to be an atmosphere blows past them as an empty, dark hallway is presented to them.

“I don't like this.” Vikna says, Jack raising his rifle and checking his motion tracker. “Destroyed ships give me the creeps.”

“You afraid some kind of zombie is going to jump out and get you?” Jack asks, teasing her as she groans.

“No, she means there could still be anthroids roaming around.” Fluff replies.

Jack nods understandingly, upping his alertness as the super soldiers move along without much vibration on the ship. As the group makes it to the end of the hall, Jack opens up another bulkhead, a blast of atmosphere erupting from the room as Jack looks around. This was definitely the engineering deck, the reactor pulsating with blue energy down below him. However, there were no bodies around, which was very strange. Jack turns back to one of the foxes in an armored suit similar to his, the helmet having spots for folded ears as he looks back curiously.

“Were there any escape pods launched?” Jack asks.

“Yes, but they were all pulled in and apprehended.” The fox replies. “There were only a few hundred personnel though.”

“Oh my god...” Vikna says. “This was a ship manned by anthroids!”

“We need to work quickly.” Fluff says, pushing his way past Jack as he jumps off the side of the railing as he floats without the assistance of his magnetic boots. “Come on, let's get this reactor out!”

Jack nods, engaging his thrusters and disengaging his mag boots. The rest of the group follow as Fluff descends to the floor of the reactor room, no radiation spikes as he engages the emergency shutoff. The floor shakes and a few red lights flash, but they're quickly silenced when he types in a code to the console. The console itself goes dark after a while as Jack lands with a thud, the other super soldiers doing the same as Jack motions for everyone to make a perimeter.

“How long is this going to take?” Jack asks.

“About twenty minutes if the bolts aren't seized and the connectors aren't corroded.” Fluff replies. “Looks like the connectors are fine, but the bolts might be fucked.”

“We'll keep you safe for however long you need.” Jack says. “Junior, datalink our motion trackers and give him a feed.”

“Sergeant, I've got vibrations.” A rabbit says, holding his hand to the ground as he readies his weapon. “Coming from the right door.”

“Copy. Seven and three switch over to the right side. Don't let a single one through.” Jack says, readying his weapon as a light flashes over the door.

The soldiers all ready their weapons, watching the door as it tries its best to open. The door is jammed only about 3 inches open, Jack making his way forward as he strengthens his frontal shields. When he's about 10 feet away from the door, a black and white hand shoves its way inside the door, followed by another as the door slowly opens itself further. That is, until it stops on seemingly nothing. When the arms make their way through, Jack instantly recognizes them, dropping his weapon as he sprints over to the door.

“HOLD FIRE!” Jack shouts. “WEAPONS DOWN!”

He grabs the two doors straining himself as he forces the blast doors open. When he does, the form of ARA drops onto his chest, barely glowing as she looks up at Jack with a look of sorrow in her eyes.

“I...I'm sorry.” She says over coms, floating where she was as her magnetic feet disengage from the ground.

Jack hurriedly pulls her back from the door before it can crush her form under the pressure of the hydraulic rams used to close the door. He cradles her in his arms, her dress torn and mangled, her synth flesh looking incredibly damaged as well. He was surprised she was even functional, let alone able to move. He rubs her head gently before looking back up at everyone else, bringing ARA over to the reactor. When Fluff looks up from his work, he lets go of the tool he was using.

“W-what?” He asks. “How?”

“I don't know.” Jack says. “Are you able to restart the reactor?”

He looks up at the 20 foot tall piece of equipment before looking back at Jack, shaking his head.

“Disconnected too many wires and bolts. It'd rattle itself loose.” He replies. “You have a charging port somewhere in that station, right?”

“I...may have made one as an easter egg...” Jack says, looking back down at ARA. “What was she sorry about?”

“First Sergeant, the door!” A voice yells over coms, Jack whipping around to see many MANY hands trying to pry the door open.

Jack lets ARA float off to the side, Vikna taking over holding her as Jack levels his weapon with the door. The door is being forced open by at least ten sets of hands, the eyes that show themselves all glowing various different colors. They're not making very good progress until a massive set of hands rips the door open by force, Jack seeing a hulking wolf clad in an armored space suit as many anthroids rush through the now open flood gates.

“OPEN FIRE!” Jack shouts, raising his bullpup and rattling off some rounds as they pierce the bodies of the anthroids. “AIM FOR THE STOMACH!”

The anthroids drop like flies, some sparking and falling flat while others just explode from the sheer amount of energy left in their cores. When Jack runs out of ammo, he grabs a chip from his arm bracer, having left them in there all these years before running over to Vikna. When he does, he sees her firing off a laser pistol with one hand, holding ARA upright with the other as the anthroid struggles to open her eyes. The man rushes forward, opening her mouth as her eyes widen with surprise. He shoves the chip inside her mouth as she blushes weakly, eyes now half open.

“Get in the chip, ARA!” Jack yells at her over coms, the AI biting down weakly onto the chip before her eyes close completely.

When her jaw goes slack, Jack shoves the chip in the back of his head, a Kaltag logo popping up in the top right corner. ARA pops up after the logo disappears, yawning and stretching.

“Stars, I love being in this suit!” She says with a smile. “Hey, Rei.”

“Don't bother me, ARA. I'm busy!” He yells, frantically working as Jack loads a new magazine into the bullpup rifle.

“Understandable.” She says. “What can I do for you today?”

“I need you to manage some functions I can't manage on my own.” Jack replies, turning back and firing on the advancing horde of AI. “How many of them are there?”

“There should only be twenty left in that wing, excluding the big, menacing, meaty asshole right there.” She says, marking the SS on his HUD. “He's the reason my body is all mangled.”

“Think I can take him?” Jack asks.

“He's definitely not as strong as the last one you faced, so of course.” She replies, lasers beginning to fly back at them as the super soldier's shields start flaring in response. “Are these men also SS?”

“No, they're super soldiers.” Jack replies.

“That's what I mean. We use an acronym.” She replies. “This answers my question either way.”

As she says that, Jack gets hit by a burst of laser fire, halving his shields as he lets loose a response of armor piercing 7.62. The rounds tear through the anthroids like butter, disabling them as one of the super soldiers tosses an EMP. When it blows, some of the shot up anthroids cease function while the rest only seem to be blinded.

“Fluff, why the fuck did you make these anthroids so resistant?!” Jack asks, continuing to fire on the seemingly never ending supply of anthroids.

“Why the hell do you think?!” He asks angrily, tossing a wrench at Jack as he continues to work.

The wrench bounces off his shoulder, floating up and out of reach as Jack switches to his grenade launcher, launching an EMP grenade toward the crowd of anthroids before it detonates. Once again, the damaged anthroids go down immediately, but the rest are only slowed. Jack loads a new grenade into the launcher, getting back on coms as he slams the tube back into place.

“Put holes in them while I launch grenades!” Jack yells. “Don't worry about taking them down!”

The response is immediate, the soldiers putting holes in the anthroids instead of going for kills as the anthroids push what they see as an advantage. Jack launches an EMP as one of the soldiers tosses one for good measure, both of them detonating and disabling or destroying every anthroid that was hit. The remaining 2 anthroids are dealt with swiftly, the hallway on the other side revealed to be open to space. The SS was not amused by this at all, charging toward the super soldiers as they open fire on the hulking mass of muscled space suit. The bullets seam to all deflect or stop inside the space suit, the unstoppable mountain of muscle making his way to the super soldiers as they all engage in close combat. The SS picks one of the super soldiers off the ground, tossing him away while another stabs a hardlight knife into the heavily armored wolf. The anthro grabs the man who stabbed him, crushing his helmet in his hands as another rushes forward with a shotgun.

The SS drops the man with the crushed helmet on the floor, a large bubble of foam forming around the helmet as the suit does its best to protect the man from the vacuum of space. The SS then slaps the shotgun out of the super soldier's hands, delivering a heavy blow to the side of the helmet as the rabbit floats off to the upper levels of the engineering wing. Fluff looks back in a panic, seeing the SS closing in as Jack lowers his shields and diverts all power to his musculature.

“Round two.” Jack says, getting into a fighting stance. “This time it's my turn to win.”

The heat from the overcharged muscles is already heating up the suit, causing the man to start sweating as the suit desperately tries to compensate. Jack disengages his mag boots, engaging the jets and jumping hard into ceiling. He reaches it in an instant, orienting himself downward and jumping back down toward the SS. He positions himself upright as he extends his leg, up toward his body and slams his foot down on top of the SS. The wolf was guarded, but the power of the strike was too much for the man to handle, Jack feeling his bones give as Jack lands with a heavy thud. When he orients himself into an upright position, the SS is holding one of his arms, backing away as Jack charges forward. Despite the wound he received, the SS delivers a kick of his own, throwing Jack off balance as ARA compensates with the rear jets. He gives an unconscious thank you to her as he lands behind the wolf, grabbing the SS and putting him into a headlock. 

The SS flails violently, bucking and thrashing to try and shake Jack off, but the man had other ideas for him. He uses his thrusters to cause the SS to lose balance, disengaging his magnetic boots at the same time before tossing the now helpless wolf into the air. The wolf appears to have no maneuvering system, spinning slightly as he tries to orient himself best for an attack on Jack. The human pulls out the rifle on his back, loading a dual purpose grenade and closing the tube with a satisfying clack, the slowly spinning SS looking back in horror when he realizes what's going to happen. Jack takes aim at the wolf, lining the HUD reticle up with his center mass before pulling the trigger. A split second later, the grenade impacts, showering the area around the SS in shrapnel that only pelts the walls and thick reactor hull in fragments. The penetrator, however, has done its job, a gaping hole being left in the suit of the SS. The super soldiers left on the ground fire up at the floating SS corpse while others reorient themselves, having been thoroughly humbled by the hulking mass of augmented muscle that was an SS.

Jack disengages the overcharged musculature, powering up his shields again as Vikna looks on in utter amazement, the entire engagement Jack partook in lasting only 30 seconds at most. He looks back at her and gives her a thumbs up, the feline shakily mimicking the gesture as Jack makes his way over to the injured SS. His helmet is covered in a nearly clear coating of material, blood running down the fox's face as he grits his teeth.

“Gamma, can you hear me?” Jack asks over radio.

“Copy...” The fox says, moving his mouth as broken teeth float from inside.

He switches over to the command channel just as Fluff releases one of the final bolts on the reactor, the massive piece of machinery floating up slightly as the man tries grabbing at it.

“Command, we have taken contact and dealt with the threat. One super soldier's armor has been compromised and sealed while two others may be suffering from minor injuries. Requesting medevac for the injured and a transport for the reactor, over.” Jack says before making his way over to Fluff. “Don't try and stop it or you'll break something!”

“Copy, First Sergeant, medevac is on the way.” They reply, Jack helping to hold the reactor in place as his mag boots struggle against the sheer mass of the reactor.

“Thanks, Haigs out.” Jack says, turning back over to squad coms. “Somebody get the maintenance doors open!”

2 of the super soldiers respond, hopping up to open the doors as another 2 help stabilize the reactor.

“Holy shit...” Vikna says, walking over to Jack as all 4 of them manage to hold the reactor in place. “That was quick.”

“We're the most effective fighting force in the galaxy, ma'am.” One of the super soldiers tells her. “Even if the First Sergeant hadn't intervened, we would've taken him down. We were coordinating the entire time.”

“Wait, what are you guys...talking...about...” Fluff asks, looking back at all the destroyed anthroids before looking up and seeing the dead SS. “Holy shit! What happened?!”

“Mister Jackson destroyed the SS in hand to hand!” ARA replies. “I'll never get tired of riding back seat in this suit!”

“We should hurry this up.” Jack says, looking up at the now open service hatches, leading to the cold and empty vacuum of space above. “I doubt these are the only forces left aboard.”

“Yeah, he's right.” Vikna says. “We should leave immediately.”

As he says that, more flashing comes from one of the doors, the door opening as Jack's eyes go wide.

“WE'RE PULLING OUT!” Jack shouts. “PUSH!”

The man in knockoff Mjolnir pushes up as hard as he can, struggling against the mass of the reactor as the super soldiers around him do the same. The super soldiers toss grenades in the now cracked door, blowing apart whatever was on the other side with massive amounts of shrapnel, the reactor now carrying the super soldiers off the ground. The reactor rises up through the service doors as it pulls Jack, Fluff, and all the super soldiers along with it. The super soldiers on the ground are relentlessly throwing grenades through the hole in the door, fully intent on not letting another SS through as bits and pieces of anthroid come back through the door. Vikna rises along with them, holding ARA in a bridal carry as the AI blushes in the top right corner of Jack's HUD. As they float out of the top of the ship, the other super soldiers follow as they assist with their maneuvering jets.

“ARA, are there any others onboard?” Fluff asks.

“No, I was the only one. I...I'll tell you when I get back in my body.” She replies. “I don't feel I would be able to control myself and fear hurting mister Jackson.”

“That's fine.” He says. “As long as nobody else is aboard.”

“Sergeant, they're getting through.” One of the soldiers says over coms.

Jack responds by letting go of the reactor, grabbing a grenade off his hip and tossing it down toward the door, the grenade bouncing a bit before exploding midair. It seems to stop whatever tried to come through, buying the rest enough time to push the reactor out into space. When they make it out into space, a shuttle makes its way over to them, the wounded fox letting go of the reactor as the shuttle hovers above the reactor. It grapples it with a few large tethers, opening the sides and allowing everyone entrance. When everyone is inside, the doors close and the bay is pressurized, the vents on everyone's suits opening up as Jack takes a deep breath of air. Gravity is the next thing to come online, allowing everyone to stand without mag boots, causing Vikna to fall over due to the sheer weight of ARA's form.

“That form is now out of power.” ARA says. “Miss Vikna, you stand to gain nothing from, uh, cuddling with me.”

“Shut up, ARA. Just let me do my thing.” She says, pulling her form into a hug as ARA blushes.

“Junior, how you holding up?” Jack asks.

“I'm doing quite fine!” She replies, ARA chuckling at that.

“He calls you Junior?” She asks.

“N-not because I want to, mind you!” Junior replies. “He still calls me ARA as well!”

“That is, dare I say, cute.” ARA says with a smile.

“Hey, mind swapping?” Fluff asks, holding out Junior toward him as he holds out another hand.

“Yeah, sure.” Jack replies, taking the chip out his helmet. “Here.”

He grabs Junior and gives Fluff ARA, the two of them putting the chips in their helmets. The shuttle is off without another word, heading back to the station.

45 minutes later

Jack feels the last of his armor pieces being stripped off as he's reoriented upright. He lets go of the arms, stepping out of the metallic boots as he begins undoing the body suit, Vikna switching between watching him and watching ARA charge on the extension cord. It was, of course, K2 standard, so she was expected to be charged enough to operate for a few days within the next few minutes. As he strips out of the body suit, Vikna purrs, Fluff looking up before quickly looking away.

“Y-you go into that thing naked?” He asks, a blush passing over his face.

“I'm wearing underwear.” Jack replies, pulling a towel over himself as he dries off the sweat that had accumulated inside while the body suit sinks back into the stand for cleaning. “Drawing all that porn is rotting your brain.”

“Real funny.” He says, Jack having struck a nerve. “It's never enough, is it?”

“MISTER REI!” ARA shouts out, scaring everyone in the room as she tackles Fluff. “Oh my god, mister Rei!”

As the surprise wears off, he hugs her back as she buries her face into the crook of his neck.

“Oh my god, I...I'm so glad I found you!” She says, rubbing against his shirt as she shakes a bit. “I was...frightened! That's the word!”

“ARA, are you okay?” He asks, Jack now able to hear purring come from ARA. “Did...did anyone...”

“Oh, no, thank the stars!” She says. “They all could've easily had their way with me. I guess your lessons on laying low are finally paying off!”

“So you're alright? You never acted this...affectionate before.” He says. “Not for anybody.”

“I just needed a friend, okay?” She asks, her shakes stopping suddenly as her arms drape down his side. “I...I seem to have lost motor functionality in my arms.”

“Your arms are being repaired right now.” Vikna tells her, pointing to the slowly closing gaps in her arms. “Automatic shutdown. Give me a diagnostic check while you're at it.”

She sits still for a second, continuing to purr into Fluff's chest before her eyes flash green once.

“Minor issues, but my personality and core programming are all untouched.” She replies. “A frame is easily replaceable.”

“Not out here.” Vikna replies. “You need to keep yourself from getting over 50 percent destroyed. If you do, there's no way the nanites will be able to repair you.”

As Vikna says that, ARA's arms jerk up, pushing her off Fluff as she lands on her back. She gives everyone a thumbs up and they all laugh, ARA pushing herself off the floor. When she realizes she's still connected to the cord, her eyes go wide and she grits her teeth.

“Am I seriously TETHERED?!” She asks angrily. “Why can't I disconnect myself?! Do these primitives not trust me on my own?!”

“ARA, you have to twist and pull.” Jack replies, the feline anthroid stopping in the middle of her fit.

“O-oh...” She says, grabbing her tail and doing as he says. “Sorry...”

“It's fine. I don't know the intricacies of your Kaltag stuff, so I just made as good of a copy as I could.” He replies. “Oh, by the way, welcome to my universe.”

“Is that where we ended up?!” She asks, looking around. “The Gelru fields were fluctuating a lot, so I guess that explains why we came here.”

“Gelru fields?” Jack asks.

“It's what keeps the portals from leaking into non-space.” He replies. “The chance to appear in our universe, let alone any other universe without it working probably is near zero. The fact that she made it here at all is a feat that probably won't ever be repeated. Unless, of course, you had something to do with this.”

“I thought the portals locked onto your consciousness?” Jack asks.

“That's what happens when the Gelru fields completely fail. The portal goes red and it locks onto a point near me that's large enough to fit whatever's coming through.” He replies. “A fail safe I've only had to use once with, uh, huh. I've only ever had to use it with ARA.”

“I guess I do have a habit of breaking the portal device!” She says with a smile.

“Speaking of which, how'd Bhainen get the portals working again?” He asks.

“He found the portal device on Siania that the Americans supposedly destroyed. Turns out it was just buried underground in a cave.” She says, shooting a look at Jack.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jack asks, putting on a shirt and some pants, which seems to disappoint Vikna. “I left before any of that shit went off. I'm not responsible for the brass and their stupidity.”

“I understand, but you're the only one I can direct my annoyance at, so I will do so.” She replies. “They managed to repair the 'destroyed' portal and used it to take over the galaxy as fast as they did.”

“I see.” Jack says. “Once that reactor is fitted, we'll try and insert above Siania. It's still in the desert, right?”

“Correct. Bhainen didn't say otherwise.” She replies.

“Then we'll act on that intel.” He says. “Until then, we can wait. I'm sure the Sianian forces are more than capable of holding their own.”

3 days later

Jack is sitting in the drop room, readying himself for the fight as he checks the ammunition on the rifle while Fluff cleans the grime off an exoskeleton of his own. He had told Jack that he was intent on coming down in a second wave, relinking the portal device with a ghetto rigged controller he made on the Excetian station. A red light comes on over the drop bay as Jack feels the tingling sensation of Tau flowing through him, the feeling passing quickly as he dons his helmet.

“All troopers, board your pods and prepare for drop in the Sianian desert.” The intercom says, prompting Jack to board his pod. “There is heavy fighting on the surface. Check IFFs before firing.”

When Jack locks his rifle and shotgun into the mounts on the pod, he steps inside, connecting with the restraints as the clam shell pod closes around him. The pod is then turned around as the airlock is closed, Jack getting on the intercom as his communications come online. He patches himself into the Sianian coms hearing many voices talking over one another as orders are relayed on many different channels. Junior begins narrowing them down, finding command frequencies, air support channels, artillery channels, and political channels. When she narrows it down to 4 channels, he hears the panicking voice of Ayn, desperately trying to keep her soldiers calm. He patches himself into the phone networks, giving her a call as her panicked broadcast is interrupted.

“W-who is this?” She asks. “All of the communications satellites are down, how are you contacting me? Is this another one of your tricks, Bhainen?!”

“Through the Milky Way we will fly!” Jack begins.

“Raining hell from up on high!” The other Marines finish.

“As we look death in the eye!” He yells out.

“We'll leave none of them left alive!” The Marines finish.

“Oh my god!” She yells. “You're here!”

“With company.” Jack tells her. “Lots of company.”

As he says that, a plasma cannon erupts on top of the ship, the shot flying down into a battle cruiser that looked to be bombarding the position they were dropping on.

“Holy shit!” She yells. “What did you bring?!”

“Ships.” He replies. “We're dropping in ten. I'll see you on the ground.”

“I...” She tries to say. “Thank you.”

He ends the call there, a count down popping up on the drop pod as Jack opens up the flight interfaces. He, like all the other super soldiers, was too heavy to land with the pods. He'd have to jump out before he hit the ground, lest he get crushed inside his own pod. He watches as the countdown ticks down. When it reaches zero, he feels a kick, the pod dropping down to the Sianian surface at a relatively high rate of speed. He gets on coms with the other pods, clearing his throat as he adjusts his helmet.

“Expect heavy contact on the ground. Platoon Alpha is going to circle around the side of the main enemy force, taking out any anti air and mortar teams with rockets and heavy rifle fire. Platoon Bravo is going to be split into two squads, Echo, who will be reinforcing the Sianian troopers on the ground, and Juliet, who will be leading the charge with me.” Jack says, passing by the destroyed battle cruiser as it's continually pelted with plasma and shells. “We'll spearhead our way into the main building, clearing it out room by room before going into the lower levels. We'll meet up with Alpha in the lower levels, clearing out the entire thing quickly. Any suggestions or comments?”

Nobody replies and Jack can already see the atmosphere licking at his drop pod, the heat increasing inside the pods as communications get fuzzy. That's when he looks out and sees explosions around him already. How could anti aircraft fire reach 90k?

“Alright, super soldiers, prepare to jump at five klicks.” Jack says, watching the altimeter drop from 85k at a rapid pace. “Everyone in the pods, brace before you land! Knees bent and prepare to come out swinging. Alpha, prepare to adjust to new waypoint!”

Jack marks a new point on the map, hearing the radio crackle to life as explosions begin shaking his pod.

“Ready to adjust!” The Gunnery Sergeant yells.

“Adjust!” Jack yells back, marking the point on the map as the other pods divert their course as Jack switches over to the Sianian infantry coms. “Hold fire on friendly units. Airborne drop in progress. Stand clear of the drop zone.”

“Who is this?” A gruff, commanding voice asks.

“Just a friend.” Jack replies.

The altitude readout is closing in on 10k, Jack grabbing his shotgun and rifle from the sides of the pod as the container jolts upward, the static line and drogue deploying.

“T-the night terror?” He asks.

Before Jack can reply, the clam shell doors fly open, blowing off the front of the pod as Jack prepares his jump pack. He sees the desert floor coming up at him fast, the hard light drogue above him straining against the weight of him and his suit. Jack attaches the shotgun to his back, holding the rifle out as his HUD reads 5k feet, jumping out of the pod as it decelerates drastically. The wind rushes by his helmet, roaring against the titanium composite as he orients himself feet first. The jump pack activates, feeling like god had picked him up out of the air and slowed his fall as the Marine lands down on the sand with a massive thud. The roar of more jump packs coming down around him is followed by more thuds as he raises his rifle. When he looks back, he sees the stunned look of blue guard followed by regular guards and Sianian military. He gives them a small salute as he disconnects the jump pack, beginning his blind charge into the enemy.

The blue guard are the first to fire on the enemy after the shock of seeing the night terror abides, firing lasers and rifles at the enemy as Jack and his super soldiers continue to push toward the enemy defenses. The fire from his rifle is all encompassing, the heavy caliber and rate of fire completely blocking out any sound that he might have otherwise heard, the only thing saving his hearing being the thick insulation on his helmet. When his magazine runs dry, he drops it onto the ground, loading a fresh one in as the enemy fortifications are completely and utterly suppressed by heavy machine gun and DMR fire.

“First Sergeant, we're at the mortar pits right now. These exoskeletons are something else!” The Gunnery Sergeant tells him. “We've effectively destroyed their mortars and are working on their heavy AA emplacements right now.”

“Copy Alpha.” Jack says, continuing his charge toward the enemy position. “Juliet, affix bayonets! We're getting in close!”

He grabs the substantial knife off the side of his breast plate, attaching it to the bullpup rifle with a click as he closes in on a solitary building in the middle of a sandy and rocky desert. Jack could see down where Alpha was engaging mortars and AA emplacements, the gunfire distant as Jack fires a rifle of his own at the windows and doorways of the building. He hops over the first wall of sand bags, seeing dead and dying men along with destroyed combat anthroids littering the battlements as he grabs a grenade off his hip. He checks his motion tracker, seeing many dots moving inside the building as one of them moves right behind the window he was standing in front of. Jack primes the grenade and tosses it inside, hearing it explode moments later as screaming can be heard from within. When he sees 15 other super soldiers make their way to the building, they too lob grenades into different windows as the building seems to erupt with explosive fire. Jack can only hope they didn't have any civilians inside. 

When the man sees men coming out looking thoroughly disoriented, the super soldiers waste no time bringing them down with gunfire and bayonets. It would've been a horrifying war crime, had Jack not seen much worse and done even worse in the suit he wore. Not to mention they weren't actively surrendering, so there was no fault to be had. Jack splits the super soldiers into teams as he enters the building, Orange team taking point while Violet, Red, and Blue all trailed behind before taking other parts of the building. Jack makes his way down one of the halls, moving like a well oiled machine before a door flies open, a man leveling a rifle with him before his eyes go wide. Jack whacks the man with his rifle butt, knocking him to the floor as the man raises his hands instinctively. Jack keeps him at gunpoint as the horror in his eyes only grows as he sees another super soldier grab him, escorting him out of the building. More super soldiers begin clearing rooms, leaving Jack with absolutely nothing to do but make his way outside. He takes the bayonet off his rifle and slides the knife back into his scabbard, trading the rifle for his shotgun, which he should've done earlier.

As he exits the building, the super soldiers from Echo are followed closely by blue guard, regular guard and Sianian soldiers bringing up the rear as Jack recognizes a small exoskeleton making its way straight for him. He waves the blue guard and super soldiers inside, all of them spreading out and making their way upstairs as more gunfire is heard. In the distance, Jack zooms in to see Alpha taking out the last of the AA crew, bordering on executing the men in the AA gun as he sees prisoners being lined up and held at gunpoint. When he turns back, he sees the small exoskeleton standing front and center, her tail protector clacking gently as she moves her tail from side to side. He sees her face pop up in the top right corner, which spooks both him and Junior as she looks over at Vikna's face with surprise.

“Was the barrage of grenades really necessary?” She asks.

“How did you do that?” Jack asks.

“It just said link with THOR armor and I did it.” She replies. “Why? Can you see my face?”

“Yes, I can.” He replies, Vikna smiling at that before her smile drops in an instant.

She turns back to the door and Jack does the same thing, seeing a woman with a bayonet through her stomach running out of the building, screaming and hollering like mad as a super soldier chases after her. The woman was dressed in civilian clothes, dropping a small pocket pistol from her hands as she desperately tries to outrun the metal man.

“Get back here!” He shouts angrily, Jack immediately chasing after the super soldier and grabbing him by the shoulder.

He flips the super soldier around as the woman runs into the arms of a Sianian soldier, Jack grabbing the soldier as he grits his teeth.

“WE DON'T FUCKING DO THAT!” Jack screams while his voice cracks in the process, unbridled rage spewing from his mouth as he points at the ovular visor of the super soldier. “WE DON'T KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN!”

“She shot at me-”

“I'LL FUCKING SHOOT AT YOU IF YOU DO IT AGAIN!” He screams over the super soldier. “She was scared and confused! Civilians aren't trained to ID targets like you and I! The first time I take you fuckers into battle and you're killing WOMEN AND CHILDREN!”

“We weren't told not to engage them.” The man says, trying to defend his actions.

“THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?! DO YOU NEED TO BE TOLD NOT TO SHOOT AT FUCKING CIVILIANS?! What the fuck is she going to do?!” He asks angrily. “You're in a suit that costs millions of fucking dollars to produce! You can take a 20 mil to the chest and fucking survive UNSHIELDED! What in the ever loving FUCK is a pistol going to do to you besides scuff your plates and scratch your visor?!”

“N-nothing...” The man says, looking down at his broken bayonet.

“Now, excuse me while I go unfuck YOUR MESS!” Jack screams, putting his shotgun on his back as he takes a deep breath.

The woman is being attended to by a soldier in a white dress, the girl looking over the broken bayonet with a tool. As the man approaches, the jackal whines in fear as a few soldiers block his path.

“Please, let me speak to her.” The man says, raising his hands.

“We don't even know who you are, nor do we know your intentions.” The leader of the bunch tells him.

“I'm the night terror-”

“I don't care who you say you are. I'm not letting you through until you confirm who you are. Visually.” The man says, Jack groaning as he looks around.

The area around him is mostly clear, a few other soldiers looking off in another direction before going off to investigate in that same direction. When they leave, Jack turns back to the soldiers, taking a deep breath.

“You have to promise not to tell anyone.” He says. “If you do, I'll know.”

The leader nods and Jack looks around one more time, seeing no other eyes on him as Vikna is now chastising the super soldier. When he turns back, he grabs his helmet, undoing the mounts for it and taking off his helmet. When he puts the helmet off to his side, the leader's eyes go wide as he straightens to a position of attention.

“G-Gunnery Sergeant.” The man says, struggling to keep his voice down.

“It's First Sergeant now.” Jack says, pushing past the men as he makes his way up to the woman.

The whining jackal is being attended to as the medic grabs hold of the bayonet with gloves, putting a hand on her shoulder as the jackal shakes her head.

“Hey.” Jack says, grabbing both the medic's and the wounded jackal's attention. “Hold my hand and squeeze.”

“T-the night terror is-”

“Hold and squeeze.” Jack says, the medic overcoming her shock as the jackal is interrupted, grabbing his hand tight.

The medic pulls hard on the bayonet, removing it from the jackal as Jack can feel her strong grip through the gauntlet. The medic immediately closes the wound up with a tool, the blue glow stemming the heavy bleeding as the jackal whines, still squeezing the life out of his hand. When she's finished, Jack smiles, the jackal still unsure of what to do.

“I'm sorry for what my soldier did to you.” He says. “I can assure you, it will never happen again. But you need to promise not to tell anyone about this. If everyone knows that the jolly green giant is the same man on all those statues, nothing good will come of it.”

“My lips are sealed.” She says. “I believe the good you've done has made up for the bad. Besides, the torment you must be going through is punishment enough.”

Jack nods, donning his helmet again as he clicks it into place, the woman letting go of his hand as he gives her a thumbs up. When he walks back over to the super soldier, Vikna is on the tail end of a verbal thrashing of her own.

“-understand what it's like to have a child of your own?! Then you see shit like THAT! She may never breed again, depending on where you hit her!” Vikna shouts. “So that's why I'm so fucking angry! Do you know what it's like to not be able to breed?! To not be able to fulfill your purpose as a living being?!”

“That's enough.” Jack says, getting on the radio and looking up. “Send in the second wave. Anti aircraft is down and we're ready to receive. Bend your knees, boys.”

“Copy that, second wave inbound.” The battleship replies. “Looks like you've got a large QRF force heading your way, recommend you set up defensive positions and get prisoners out of there.”

“Do you have any artillery to spare?” Jack asks.

“We have a few eight inch guns we could spare.” They reply. “Marking target with an IR laser.”

Just as they say that, Jack switches over to the IR mode on his helmet, seeing a large laser being projected toward something beyond the horizon. He gets on the radio again and gets in contact with Ayn. She picks up the phone after it rings for a while, confusing Jack.

“Hey, thanks for returning my call.” She says, confusing Jack for a second. “I'd like to order a large yaffa cake.”

“Uh, I'm not Zofie.” Jack replies.

“No, I don't think you understand. I'd like to order a large yaffa cake.” She says, her voice trembling a bit as Jack immediately perks up.

“How many are with you?” Jack asks.

“Thirty five heffa fruits in a star pattern.” She replies, Jack making note of 35 possible contacts. “Five large candy coated hex fruits in a star pattern.”

“Thirty five men in five Victors, got it.” Jack says. “When will you be arriving?”

“I'd like it within fifteen minutes at the palace, please. ” She replies. “Thank you.”

“Got it, fifteen minutes. We'll play it cool.” Jack says, seeing them coming over the horizon. “See you when I see you.”

He hangs up the phone and gets back on the radio with the battleship.

“Hold fire, those are hostiles with a hostage.” Jack says, switching frequency. “All units, get into a defensive position but act cool. We've got a hostile convoy with a high value hostage inside. Do not engage until I give the order.”

“Bravo copies.” One of the higher ranking super soldiers replies.

“Alpha copies all.” The Gunnery Sergeant replies.

Jack heads over to a relatively flat area that could be considered a parking lot, a few medics treating wounded enemy combatants as he watches the black, hovering vehicles make their approach. As they do, Jack draws his shotgun, keeping it to his chest as he makes his way forward to meet the vehicles. When they all stop, skids pop out of the bottom for the vehicles to rest on, the doors opening up to reveal jackals in very convincing and official looking gear. He waves at them, the jackals returning the gesture as Ayn steps out of the vehicle, a jackal having his hands over her shoulder as Jack goes to meet with her.

“Didn't think I'd get to meet you here.” Jack says. “Why'd you come all the way from the palace to meet me?”

“The jolly green giant needs to be kept on a short leash.” She says with a smile, glancing over at the driver of the vehicle before glancing back to him.

“Is that so?” He asks before pointing to the guard. “You there, what's your name?”

“Simani.” The man replies.

“Name's apparently night terror.” Jack replies. “I'll be your escort to hell today.”

He cocks his head and Ayn gets down, the human raising his shotgun in a flash and blasting the guard in the face. The buckshot turns his head into hamburger meat, the man turning his shotgun on the driver before gunfire erupts behind him, mowing down the now alerted guards. The shotgun blasts through the window of the hover car, turning the man on the other side into mulch as Jack pulls Ayn off the floor, pulling her behind him as he uses himself as a human shield. The self denying goddess behind him hides herself well behind him as he takes a few shots to his shields, responding in kind with a shotgun blast before racking the pump one handed. His shields are taking a lot of punishment, warning buzzers coming from his ears as he feels his shields about to break with the buildup of static around his body. He pushes Ayn back and his shields blow away from his body with a loud pop, bullets beginning to scuff and ping off the armor plating as the super soldiers do their best to suppress the others. Shots begin hitting in areas not covered by his massive breast plates, feeling like he's getting his gut punched in by sledgehammers as he groans in pain. As he continues pushing back toward the building, he feels something pierce the armor, searing pain coming from the injury as he struggles to keep himself upright.

“JACK!” Ayn screams, having seen the shot go through.

He attempts to speak, but all that comes out is a scream as he continues to take shots from all directions. He feels another shot pierce through, this time deflecting off the armor and going straight up into his chest. The super soldiers have had enough, now electing to toss grenades in a veritable barrage of their own making. Jack pushes Ayn down on the floor, covering her as best he can before locking his armor in place, feeling shrapnel slamming against his ass, legs, and back as he keeps the princess of this world safe. When the final grenade explodes, Ayn is desperately trying to get out from underneath him, but it turns out his armor lock is too strong for even her to break. He releases the lock and his helmet, coughing up blood onto the ground as he lays on his back. He feels an immense pain shoot through his entire body as he feels a foam-like substance ooze from under the suit. He continues to cough up more blood as he applies pressure to the wounds, pulling his hand away and seeing a blood soaked foam spilling out of his wounds.

“B-bio-foam?” He asks, hacking up more blood as Vikna is the first one to arrive.

“Oh my god, JACK!” She screams, terror and fear in her eyes as she looks down at him coughing up blood.

“L-LUNG!” He shouts, spattering blood on her visor as she removes it and takes out a large pen.

She runs it along his body as a medic rushes over as well, doing the same with his own tool.

“He's got a punctured lung.” The medic says. “No way to get to it without removing the armor.”

Just as he says that, Jack takes a deep breath, coughing up blood before every cough is completely dry afterwards, the man feeling adrenaline begin coursing through his veins. When he looks over at his helmet, he sees a flashing red warning inside the visor. He dons the helmet after shaking the sand from it, looking inside and seeing a flashing 'BIO-FOAM DEPLOYED' warning inside his helmet. As he stands up, the medic looks on in amazement, the man grabbing his shotgun off the ground and turning back to everyone else.

“I can keep going.” Jack says, feeling more than a bit of pain as he talks.

Just then, he feels the foam begin pushing something out of his body, a rail gun projectile and a large caliber round both landing on the sand, covered in blood. The medic looks down and pulls the rounds off the ground, looking them over before looking back at Jack.

“How?” The medic asks.

“Bio-foam.” Jack replies.

As he says that, he hears a few drop pods hit the ground about 100 feet behind him, looking back and seeing a very dazed Fluff step out of the pod. Jack makes his way over to the man, traveling at a slower pace than he'd like as he feels the torn muscles being forcibly reattached in an excruciatingly painful manner. When he reaches the artist in an exoskeleton, the man looks up at him before looking down at the hole in his armor that is oozing bloody bio-foam.

“What the hell happened to you?” He asks.

“I got shot.” Jack strains to say. “I think...it's repairing...my body...”

“Jesus, you need to lay down?” He asks.

“No, I'm...fine.” Jack replies, very much not fine. “I can...fight. Talking...hard.”

“You need to rest.” He says.

“No way...to land.” He says, taking off his helmet and coughing a bit of blood on the ground. “Heavy AA.”

“Then you'll need to sit this one out.” Fluff says. “I can't have you dying on me. On Vikna.”

“I'll fight.” Jack says, coughing up more blood as he grunts in pain.

The hole in his suit is still spewing blood red bio-foam, the holes in his lung being patched by the foam as he groans. When he puts his helmet back on, he switches over to orbital coms, getting on the line with the battleship.

“Moving into...the building.” Jack says with great difficulty. “Drop...medics.”

“Copy that, dropping some medics in. Tell us when the air is clear to send in shuttles.” The battleship says. “Garland's Hammer, out.”

Jack gets off the radio and makes his way back to the large, surprisingly Earth inspired building before the pain finally overwhelms him, dropping into the sand as he passes out. The last thing he feels before he passes out is him pushing himself back up and beginning to walk.

??? later

Jack feels like his chest is on fire, slowly cooling as his consciousness is being pulled back from the inky black of sleep. As his senses return to him, a faint scent of blood and alcohol wafts up his nose. His hearing is next to come back, a low hum of changing pitches coming from around him as he recognizes it as a tune. His feeling and sense of taste come back at the same time, realizing that he himself was humming the tune outside of his own volition. The last thing to come was his eyesight, barely able to make out anything in the building he was in. When he looks off to the side, he sees that it's night out, the shattered windows of the building he had captured with all those super soldiers. As his hearing gets more clear, he definitely hears a voice other than his in the distance. It was talking, no, singing along with his humming.

“The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,  
That lays upon the altar, the dearest and the best.” He hears being sang to his side.  
“The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,  
The love that makes undaunted, the final sacrifice.”

When his eyes finally decide to focus on who it is, he sees Vikna sitting in a chair, looking out the window. He decides to keep humming, wanting to see where this goes. Vikna hums along with him for a while, the icy yet soothing sound of her singing voice calming any burning pain left in his chest before she begins singing the next verse.

“And there's another country, I've heard of long ago...  
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know,  
We may not count her armies, we may not see her king...  
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering...” She continues singing in that silky smooth voice he cherishes so much.  
“And soul by soul and silently, her shining bounds increase,  
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.”

He finally stops his hum, Vikna's tail no longer flicking from side to side as she turns back to the bed. Her smile warms his heart as she pulls him into a hug, a very gentle hug.

“Have I ever told you that you have the voice of a goddess?” Jack asks.

“Oh, stop it you.” She says, rubbing her face against his own. “I don't even hold a candle to you.”

“Are you alright? What about Ayn?” He asks, getting back to the task at hand.

“I'm perfectly fine and Ayn is...well, she didn't get hurt.” She replies, Jack not noticing she didn't just say she was fine in his slightly dazed state. “Thanks to your stupid ass. You could've been killed.”

“Come on, it takes more than a couple bullets to kill me.” He tells her. “What about the basement?”

“Oh, the basement?” She asks. “You should've seen Rei. He won't admit it, but I'm pretty sure he was trying to fill your shoes as the commander of the SPETMAU. He was doing pretty okay until the fire got too intense.”

“He does realize he has a girlfriend and a life to go back to, right?” Jack asks.

“Rich coming from you.” Vikna says with a smirk.

“I realized it as soon as I said it.” He tells her. “So, the basement is secured?”

“Uh...not exactly...” She says, looking off to the side. “It's being held by Sianian soldiers, but the SPETMAU and super soldiers took a few losses.”

She looks around and so does Jack, seeing a few humans in cots like his along with some very muscular anthros. This includes the sociopathic rabbit he saw before, who's thankfully a few beds away from him. When he looks back over at Vikna, he sees her nodding off before jolting back awake, yawning as she does a little cat stretch. Soon after she finishes her stretch, she nearly falls off the chair when she goes limp, having fallen asleep even though she was perfectly awake moments ago. Jack feels at his torso, the bullet holes having left scars that have all but healed. The pain in his chest is gone, but a slight burning still remains as he tries to get himself up. He runs into a roadblock, however, and begins pulling leads and tubes away from his body. He wasn't going to be stuck in a hospital for another second while that portal device was still in Bhainen's clutches. When he gets up from the cot, he looks down and sees he's in a half put together body suit, putting it back together as the soft armor surrounds him in an insulating layer on the cold desert night.

He grabs Vikna off the chair with a gentleness as to not wake her up, laying her down in the cot before covering her with a blanket. She coos with a child-like delight as he tucks his kitty in, giving her a goodnight kiss before making his way off to find his suit. He makes his way up and down the various halls, the offices that used to be around acting as storage rooms for super soldier suits and SPETMAU gear alike. Jack makes his way upstairs, meeting a few lookouts on the way and exchanging a few words, but he usually keeps to himself as he continues to look for his armor. When he makes it to one of the last doors, he sees his armor stand sitting in the middle of the room alongside Fluff's and Vikna's exoskeletons. He makes his way up to the stand, the door closing behind him as he mounts the boots. A few less than comfortable minutes of donning his suit later, Jack is armored up as he puts his helmet on. When the helmet is on, he makes his way out of the room, seeing Fluff sneaking his way up the stairs. Jack flashes his lights at the man for a split second, scaring the shit out of him as he nearly falls back down the stairs. When he looks over at Jack, he sighs, making his way up the stairs.

“I guess you heard?” He asks.

“I heard you led my men in my stead.” Jack replies. “I also heard you did a good job with it.”

“Up until they started firing back.” He says. “Seeing you get shot like you did really put a damper on the whole getting shot thing.”

“Your exoskeleton is much less suited to maneuvering than mine is. It's dedicated to protecting the occupant.” Jack tells him. “Where I got shot, you would've taken a BMP cannon shell without so much as a scratch.”

“What?” He asks.

“That armor is designed to keep the occupant safe. It's why I chose that instead of, say, a mobility exo.” Jack replies. “You can walk and jog just fine, but you can take a ton of punishment in return.”

“Well, I need to ask you something.” He says. “Where are you going so late at night?”

“I'm going down into the caves.” Jack replies. “Stealth mission and all that.”

“Wait, your guns are super loud. How are you going to stealthily take down anyone?” He asks.

Jack replies by taking out his knife, and a large suppressor that was left in a hard case on his thigh, attaching it to the large pistol he had on his hip. The white haired man nods, making way for the man before Jack turns to him.

“I'm going out on a limb here and saying you want to tag along?” Jack asks. “Even though I'm not angry in the slightest and you did everything to the best of your abilities?”

“Yeah.” He replies.

“If you can keep quiet, I'll take you along.” Jack tells him. “Gear up and I'll be waiting in the caves. Hopefully we'll be done by morning.”

30 minutes later

Jack is standing by the entrance to a cave, a map being displayed in the top right corner ash Fluff is stacked up behind him. A foe is making their way toward them as Jack watches the motion tracker, hiding just out of sight as he has turned his shields off to completely minimize any light he might give off. As the guard passes the cave, Jack snatches him and tosses him to the ground, cupping a hand over the snout of the feline as he attempts to scream out in protest.

“Where are the others?” Jack asks, pulling a knife to his throat that immediately silences the feline. “You scream, I'll stab you before you can so much as squeak. Understand?”

The feline nods and he keeps the knife pressed against the feline, taking his hand away as he begins speaking.

“T-they're all to the south in their barracks. I-I'm the only guard and I'm only here to warn them.” He says.

“Lying to me isn't a good idea.” Jack tells the feline.

“F-fine, there's seven more guards all over the place my tracker has their locations on the map.” He says, pulling a chip from his helmet. “Here, take it. Just don't kill them, alright?”

“If they put up a fuss, I will do what I need to.” Jack says. “Now, say goodnight.”

“W-what?!” He asks before Jack delivers a sharp blow with his fist, knocking the cat out cold.

“Brutal.” Fluff says. “Either you're a lot more terrifying than I give you credit for, or these guys are huge pussies.”

“Well, they're felines. Only in their nature.” Jack says with a smirk before inserting the chip into the back of Junior's data chip.

“Well, it appears this device was laced with some sort of virus, so I will quickly dispose of it and access the actual data.” Junior says, tossing a piece of code behind her as she marks various positions on the HUD, which are moving around. “These are the guards he was talking about, but they're no ordinary guard. At least, not the two I've marked in red.”

“Hey, Salin, what's going on?” Jack hears come over his radio.

“Junior match the tone of his voice. Hurry.” Jack says.

“I'm afraid it will take a bit of time, please-”

“This is Salin, I just stopped to take a piss.” Fluff says on the radio, almost perfectly mimicking his voice. “Sorry about that.”

“Alright, just make sure to save some for me.” The man tells him, Jack now able to feel the blush through both of their suits. “Make sure to talk dirty to me later tonight, little kitty.”

The radio clicks off and Jack turns back to the white haired man, the heavy exo being frozen in shock as he looks down to the feline on the ground.

“I heard nothing.” Jack says.

“I said nothing.” Fluff says, Jack taking the tracker out of his chip and tossing it back on the ground.

“Don't worry, mister Jackson, I've put a false path that will avoid all the other patrols and still present him as walking around.” Junior says. “Hopefully their suspicion will be suppressed long enough for everyone to be subdued.”

“Alright, let's get...” Jack is about to say when he sees a couple of dots moving down the hallway at a very slow pace. “We've been had.”

“How do you know?” He asks.

Jack doesn't say anything more, taking out his pistol and engaging his shields. Fluff does the same, the dots getting ever closer as he puts the pistol up against the wall. A cylinder bounces off the side of the cave, a slight flash and a loud bang accompany it, the dots rushing around the corner as Jack takes aim. He fires once, twice, thrice into the first one as he pumps 3 more shots into the second, both of them crumpling as Jack puts the pistol away, taking his shotgun out.

“Fuck, my eyes!” Fluff yells, Jack turning back and seeing he's covering his visor.

“Blink it off!” Jack yells, seeing all the markers disappear.

“I have surmised that these marks may be false.” Junior says, Jack seeing a few more dots make their way down the cave hallway.

Jack turns the corner in a flash, blasting the first man in the chest with buckshot as he switches targets, blasting another with a slug as his shields begin to flare. He blasts the last one with a slug and opens his hard case up, loading the shotgun up with buckshot before racking the pump.

“I'm good!” He yells. “This was a really bad idea!”

“We all make mistakes.” Jack says over the radio, blasting at another flashlight that comes out of the hall. “Junior are you able to boost the motion tracker's range?”

“I can use some reserve power for this purpose.” She replies, the little '25M' changing to a '40M' as more dots appear at the edges of the range. “I can only reach out to forty, uh, meters I believe. If it was in yards, it would be much more convenient. Anyway, I'd need to draw power from some other subsystem if I wanted to increase the range further.”

“Got it. This is good for now.” Jack says, taking the rifle off his back as he waves Fluff over. “You're covering my ass. Ever been trap shooting?”

“Uh, no. I never did much of that.” He replies. “I did three gun instead, remember?”

“Good, keep me covered.” Jack says, handing him the shotgun as he takes the rifle in his hands.

“There's more coming!” Junior spouts, Jack raising his rifle as Fluff nearly drops the shotgun.

Jack rattles off a few rounds into the first one that comes around the corner, the second firing from cover as Jack does the same. Fluff tries his best, but the shotgun simply can't reach out to 40 meters with any kind of effectiveness. As Jack fires into the arm of the lion, he roars and drops back behind cover, Jack pushing his advantage. A quick scan of the motion trackers reveals nothing and the cave is a straight shot to the enemy position. When Jack rounds the corner, however, what he finds is a sight to behold. There, standing in front of him, was a 6 foot tall lion trying to strike a pose, rubbing his hands down his body as Jack cocks his head.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Jack asks, noticing the lion is bleeding in the arm. “Are you a male stripper or something?”

“What?” He asks. “My magic isn't working?”

Jack raises his rifle and the lion's eyes go wide, raising his arms in the air as Jack closes in on the man.

“Stand still and I'll make this quick.” Jack says, closing in on the man as his eyes going even wider with fear.

Jack slams the butt of his rifle against the temple of the lion, knocking him out before he feels a pain in his chest. Maybe coming down here was a bad idea. The lapse in concentration comes back to bite him in the ass, his shields going down in an instant as he's blown back by a massive explosion. It's so massive that it nearly knocks his helmet off, throwing him into the back wall of the cave as the lion he knocked out is all but shredded by the shrapnel. As Jack regains his senses, he sees 3 more men charging down the hallway, almost on top of him by the time he is able to raise his weapon. He doesn't get a shot off, the feline kicking his rifle away as all 3 of them point their weapons at him. Jack looks on his motion tracker, a singular yellow dot approaching as Jack raises his hands.

“Ya got me.” Jack says before pointing behind them. “But I think he got you.”

“Nice try, we're not falling-”

Before the canine who was speaking can finish, a click is heard behind him, drawing all their attention to the man in a massive, bulky suit of armor, racking the pump as the shotgun goes click again.

“Uh, shit.” Fluff says as Jack lays his head back against the ground before his shields finally recharge. “Mind if I try again?”

When the shields recharge, Jack hops to his feet, the distraction proving more than enough to allow him to produce a blade made entirely of shield energy. In one fell fell swoop, Jack slices the head off the canine and feline, kicking the goat down into the floor before stabbing him through with the blade. The goat lets out a dying bleat before going silent, Jack retracting the blade and putting his hands on his hips.

“I...ran out of ammo.” He says, Jack opening a hardcase and handing him 6 shells.

“See this thing?” Jack asks, pointing to the point on his visor where he knows the ammo counter is. “What is that?”

“The ammo counter.” He says.

“The ammo counter.” Jack reiterates. “You check that at all times to make sure you're not empty.”

“Got it.” He says, loading the shells into the shotgun before racking the pump.

“The portal device is close. The energy it gives off is unmistakable.” Junior says, Jack making his way down the cave as she gives him a general area she think it might be.

The two continue down the cave, bits of rubble scattered around from the grenade explosion as Jack sees a few markers on his motion tracker. They're only there for a few seconds, so he grabs a flash grenade, putting it in the underslung grenade launcher and closing the tube. When it's closed, Jack launches the grenade at the corner, the canister detonating as he rushes around the corner. When he does, he sees an SS and a few soldiers, all in a daze as they struggle to shake off the blindness. Jack engages the SS first, pumping his entire magazine into the visor of the SS, dropping him nearly instantly. When that's all said and done, he slams the butt of his rifle into 2 of the soldiers, the other managing to shake off his blindness in time to get knocked out by a rifle. When he's finished with his swift but effective beating, he loads another flash grenade into the launcher, loading a magazine as well before looking inside.

Jack sees a flashing blue, red, and green orb in the middle of the room, wires branching off it as Fluff moves in behind him. The room has tons of consoles and screens, all of them showing some kind of calculation in Arabic. He looks on his motion sensor one more time, turning his volume up all the way before hearing some heavy breathing in front of him. It was deep and throaty, like it belonged to something big, something waiting. Jack motions for Fluff to turn around, which he does before the man launches a flash bang into the room. It explodes on contact, the flash of light being dulled by the powerful flash protection built into the THOR armor system. The explosion is also dulled by the hearing protection in his helmet, a high roar being heard as his motion tracker shows a MASSIVE contact in the room. When it comes barreling toward where the flash grenade exploded, Jack sees something he never thought he'd see.

“A FUCKING MINOTAUR?!” Jack nearly screams at Fluff, switching his weapon to full auto and spraying into the monstrosity in front of him. “PUMP IT FULL OF LEAD!”

Fluff does just that, blasting the Minotaur with the shotgun as chunks of flesh are torn off the beast. When it turns around, Jack sees the beast is definitely not blinded.

“Oh fuck!” Fluff yells.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Jack shouts.

The Minotaur charges forth, Jack putting the rifle on his back as he tries to think. Cave's too small to dodge, the distance is too great to run, and he's definitely not able to deploy a sword in time. He'll just have to bear it. The Minotaur levels its horns with Jack and he extends his arms, grappling the horns as his feet scrape along the cave walls. Junior, the fast thinker she is, has already engaged overdrive and is diverting every single watt of power to his musculature. He can feel it too, the heat quickly rising inside the suit as the Minotaur continues to push him down the cave at a somewhat slowed pace. Even with the enhanced strength, the Minotaur is still winning the fight of brawn with relative ease, continuing to push Jack down the cave before they finally make it to a place that he can push himself out of the way. Jack lets the Minotaur go, dashing off to the side as the beast embeds itself in the wall, Junior turning his systems back on.

Jack takes the rifle off his back, the Minotaur struggling to pull its horns out of the wall as Jack grabs a grenade from his belt. He slots it into the grenade launcher, slamming the tube home and launching it at the massive creature. The explosion blasts into the side of the cave, breaking off both the Minotaur's horns as it finally frees itself from its stony prison. When it looks back at Jack, one of its eyes are gone and its skull looks like it was hit by a massive sledge hammer.

“Why won't you fucking DIE?!” Jack asks loudly before the Minotaur charges again, this time Fluff in the same path as Jack is.

With nowhere to grab onto, Jack tosses the rifle aside, drawing the pistol off his holster and lining up a shot. Time slows down to a crawl as he lines the crosshair up with the beast's head, a small, red dot presenting itself in the middle of the crosshair. Jack doesn't think, as muscle memory from his years of doing nothing but playing video games kicks in and he pulls the trigger. With an underwhelming pop, the beast's eyes roll back into its head, time resuming at normal speed as the Minotaur slides along the floor. Jack pumps one more shot into the head for good measure, the heavy slug popping the weakened skull open like a watermelon. Jack drops the magazine and opens up the pouch for a new magazine, loading it into the pistol before dropping the slide and holstering it again.

“Fluff...” Jack says as the suit comes off overdrive, a surge of coolant going over his entire body. “Why is there a Minotaur here?”

“I guess I must've added them at some point.” Fluff says.

“Well, thanks for the assist.” Jack says. “The pain the shotgun inflicted slowed it down enough for me to get a shot off.”

“Yeah...you're welcome.” He says, Jack making his way past the Minotaur as he grabs his rifle.

When the two hop over the corpse of the Minotaur, they both turn back into the cave, seeing the device in the center of the room was completely untouched. When the 2 enter the room, there's a chair in the corner of the room with a singular SPETMAU Marine in it while another chair sits behind it. He could see the outline of Ayn's red hair as the Marine struggles to speak against his gag, struggling against his bonds as Jack makes his approach. Nothing shows up on motion trackers as Jack unsheathes his knife, putting the rifle on his back as he approaches the chair. He tears the tape off the Marine's mouth, the man spitting out a wad of cotton as he takes a deep breath.

“First Sergeant, thank fuck you're here. That thing was going to rape me!” The Marine says, Jack cutting him loose first before moving over to Ayn.

He rips the tape off her muzzle and she too spits out some cotton, sticking her tongue out slightly as her eyes look distant.

“So big...” Is all she says before he cuts her free. “Too big...”

When he cuts her free, she slumps over in the chair, Jack grabbing her and picking her up. The Marine walks over to the corner of the room, grabbing his gear and putting it all on before grabbing Ayn's staff. Jack sees the new winch was affixed to it as well, making him smile with delight under his silvery visor. When he makes his way over to the door, he looks down at Ayn, seeing a mysterious white liquid pour out of her dress, soaking the ground as Jack realizes it's probably Minotaur cum. Good thing he's wearing this suit. Ayn wraps her arms around his neck and puts her head over his shoulder, the goddess of lust having bitten off more than she could chew. Fluff grabs a device out of a hard case, tapping it a few times as the screens turn from a dark, mint green to a deep, Katrician blue.

“All call signs, anyone read me?” Jack asks over the radio.

“Copy, you're a bit fuzzy, but we read you.” One of the super soldiers replies.

“Portal device has been secured.” Jack says. “Send some guys down to secure the rest of the caves when you can. I'll sit tight and keep the room secure while Fluff does his magic.”

“Sending units down into the caves, out.” He says, Jack letting Ayn down on the floor.

“Nooo...” She says, putting her arms back out.

“You need to rest.” Jack tells her, grabbing a space blanket from inside one of his hard cases and unraveling it.

“But...it's not safe.” She says, trying to get up.

Jack pushes her back down, covering her with the space blanket as she whines a bit. He ruffles her hair and she calms down quickly after that, pulling the space blanket over herself as she closes her eyes, Jack seeing a few contacts on the motion tracker. He gets off the ground, pulling out the suppressed pistol as he takes aim at the doorway. When the attackers stop at the edge of the cave to the portal, they look over and see the dead Minotaur before looking back and seeing Jack still alive.

“You want some?” Jack asks, keeping the pistol trained on the hostiles. “I can hold out all night long if I have to.”

The anthros get the message, backing off and running back the way they came as Jack puts the pistol back on his hip. He makes his way back over to Ayn as he looks up at Fluff, who's furiously typing away at the console. Jack can barely make out him saying something angrily, but he doesn't know enough or care enough to pay attention when his friend is in need of attention. Fat lot of comforting he can do in this suit. He strokes Ayn's hair gently as she smiles under the blanket, her ears flattening a bit as she licks against her lip piercing. She motions for him to take it off, the man reaching inside her lip and separating the two halves.

“It's broken and cutting my lip.” She says, her ears flicking as he sees a bit of blood around her ear rings. “Take my ear rings off for me?”

He nods as she opens her eyes half way, undoing the ear 4 ear rings on her ears and setting them in the same hard case.

“Take my...other rings off me?” She asks with a smirk.

“I would, but one thing would lead to another and you'd be trying to stuff my arm up your ass.” Jack replies. “Lots of sharp edges and all.”

“I'd slap you if I had the strength.” She says, smiling as she lays her head back. “Thank you for saving my life. Again.”

“Hey, it's what I do.” Jack says. “I'm curious though. Were you really trying to break my armor lock?”

“I was trying as hard as I could.” She replies. “It's like you hardened into a rock.”

“I never got to tell you this, but I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. Kaya's ship was really complicated to fix and I had to basically make new ship parts from scrap electronics and duct tape.” He says. “I would've came the same day, had I been able to.”

“What matters is that you came.” She says. “That battle cruiser was slaughtering our men on the ground and the AA was keeping anyone from dropping off more supplies. Bhainen has a few footholds around the world, but this was one of his biggest purely because the ship was in a Casaba howitzer dead zone. That battleship was really tearing it up in the skies. Where did it come from?”

“My universe.” He replies. “This is the kind of fighting where it thrives. Ships with no projectile shielding that it can face fuck with no restriction.”

“Hot.” She says, looking up at the ceiling. “Speaking of face fucking, did you see that Minotaur?”

“I killed it, yes.” Jack replies. “Friend of yours?”

“Not at all. I offered myself up in your friend's stead and it said it was going to rape him anyway.” She says. “Reminds me of Loki.”

“Say what you will about him, he was an invaluable asset helping us fix Kaya's ship.” Jack tells her. “Organic crane and all that.”

“His strength has its uses.” She says, looking back over at Jack. “How long do you think this will take.”

“Hell yeah, get fucked, Bhainen!” Fluff yells out, raising a massive fist into the air.

“Less than six months, now that we have the portals back.” Jack replies.

“Sergeant, they're here.” The Marine says, Jack confirming it by seeing at least 10 IFFs behind him.

Ayn smiles gently and tries to get up, but her legs don't want to work. The super soldiers flood the room, taking positions as 6 of them walk down toward the other side of the cave. Ayn reaches out to Jack and he picks her up, taking her in the space blanket as he turns back to Fluff.

“I need to take the sleepy princess back upstairs.” Jack says.

“Alright, I've got some ships to slice in half.” He says, the portal device beginning to spin as a ring of blue light expands around it. “Stupid jury-rigged piece of shit, LOCK ON!”

Jack leaves him to it, making his way back down the caves.

30 minutes later

Jack makes his way back up the stairs, Ayn having fallen asleep in his arms a long time ago. She was so peaceful looking when she slept, making him smile underneath the helmet as he looked around for a free cot. When he finds one, he lays her down on the less than ideal sleeping surface, the jackal whining at the sudden loss of warmth. He pulls the space blanket off her and puts a real one on her instead, letting her sleep off the massive pounding she took for his Marine's sake. When he makes his way upstairs, he steps into the room with the armor stand on it, stepping inside and letting the machine strip him of his armor. 

When that's all said and done, he takes off the body suit, leaving him exposed down to his underwear as he makes his way back down the hallway. He has to be careful to avoid the glass, as he doesn't have anything but his bare feet to stop the glass from cutting him up like a knife. As he makes his way back down the stairs, he looks down at all the patients in the makeshift hospital. A medic makes her way along the beds, doing her rounds as Jack makes his way back to the cot. When she looks over to the man, the leopard's face goes flush with color for a bit before turning back into a friendly smile. As he makes his way over to his cot, Jack rubs Vikna on the shoulder very gently before rousing her from her sleep.

“Got room for two?” He asks quietly.

“Mmm, I knew you'd run off and do something while I was asleep...” She says drowsily. “Go on patrol?”

“I took the portal device back and Fluff is going mad scientist mode cutting ships in half.” Jack replies.

She takes a deep breath, sighing out her disappointment as Jack sits in the chair next to her bed.

“You know, I'm really mad at you right now, but I'm too tired to scream and I don't want to wake anyone. So slap yourself for me, would you?” She asks.

Jack nods, punching himself in the jaw with a decent amount of force, rubbing it as he feels pain surge through his cheek.

“I said slap, not punch.” She says. “Come here.”

She holds out her arms and Jack picks her up off the bed, holding her close to him as he lays back down on the cot. She immediately wraps him in warm, soft fur as he wraps his arms around her back, keeping her close as she starts purring.

“It'll all be over soon.” He tells her. “Hell, maybe it'll be over tomorrow.”

“Doubtful, but it's a nice thought.” She says with a yawn. “Sleep time. Get some rest and we can talk tomorrow.”

He wasn't going to argue. He was tired the entire time he was down there. When Vikna finally drifts off to sleep, Jack does the same, having dreams of the two of them fishing again.

7 hours later

Jack is awoken by the feeling of a soft, wet tongue licking at his neck, the morning light becoming apparent to him soon after. He opens his eyes, looking down to see Vikna idly licking away at his neck and chin. He ruffles her hair gently, the feline purring excitedly as her eyes open as well. Jack looks around and sees it's just starting to get light outside, the faint sound of men laughing being the only thing signifying anyone's alive.

“Vikna, you want to get up?” Jack asks.

She whines a bit, pulling the covers over her head as Jack takes the hint, pulling her up so he can get off the cot. When he gets up, he sees a pair of clothes sat beside his cot on the chair, picking them up and pulling them onto his body. When he's completely dressed and has a pair of actual shoes on, he makes his way over to where all the noise is. When he arrives, he sees about 20 men sitting in the room alongside Fluff and Ayn, all watching a holo-screen video of some old memories Ayn must've collected.

“This one's from a reporter I found way back when your First Sergeant was a Staff Sergeant.” Ayn says, the memory of the space port playing on the holo-screen.

Jack is in the middle of the taxiway, escorting Zofie to an APC as he provides covering fire behind hard light barriers.

“He was very far away from home and all he wanted to do was save people.” She tells them, watching as Jack loads another magazine into the old M16A1. “Most of the important raids to save the city around the Tower were conducted by him. So, when you ask why he has that big medal on his chest again, this is why.”

She continues switching between various memories, including ones that a few of the men in the room were there for. Many moments everybody liked to call valorous were displayed on screen, clips of Jack doing many things, mostly from Rolling Stone's point of view. It was odd that he never caught Jack doing anything bad. He couldn't remember, but he was absolutely sure he'd done at least something regrettable during that deployment. Well, the killing is probably the biggest regret he had, but people die when they go into battle. It's how battles are fought and won. When he looks back up, she's searching through more memories, the folder being labeled 'Jack and me' alongside other folders. There was a 'Nytro and me' folder, a 'Vikna and me' folder, an 'ARA and me' folder, and a 'Zofie and me' folder as well. Guess she was more organized than he had first thought. However, he feels a certain tension in the air, making the hair on the back of his neck raise. It was a tension that he'd felt before on quite a few different occasions.

“Somebody hit your panic button right now.” Jack says calmly, looking around the room for what could be causing his fight or flight to go off.

“F-First Sergeant?” One of the men asks. “Why?”

“Just do it or nobody will know we're in trouble.” Jack replies, a few of the Marines hitting their panic buttons. “Come on out or I'll start punching everything in this room.”

“What?” A Marine asks.

“Not talking to all of you.” Jack says, getting up off the chair. “I'm talking to the stealth trooper in here with us.”

“I wouldn't be so sure.” A voice says right in front of Jack.

The man is picked up and tossed back into the wall, going straight through it and out the other side. Jack is in a daze by now, a couple of SS making themselves known as one covers the group of Marines and the other makes his way toward Jack. He picks the man up off the ground by his neck, Jack struggling to keep the SS from crushing his windpipe with a single clench of his fist. Instead of crushing him, he throws Jack out a window, the glass and wooden reinforcement giving him cuts all along his arms and back of his head. He tumbles along the sand, nearly rolling down the hill the building is perched on before hitting a sandbag wall. He looks up, seeing one of the super soldiers looking down at him curiously. When the coyote looks back, he sees something significantly more muscular and capable than him. He charges it anyway, firing wildly into the SS as his bullets bounce harmlessly off the armor. The SS grabs him by the helmet, tossing him away as the hulking mass of armor and flesh continues toward his intended target, Jackson.

Jack tries to get himself off the ground, successfully getting on one knee before being kicked so hard he felt his spine strain against the blow. The SS picks him back up before ice begins to form around the muscular and heavily armored body. Jack looks back in horror, seeing Vikna attempting to freeze the SS in place as the leopard turns around to face her. The ice breaks with hardly any effort, Vikna making an ice spear and chucking it at the SS as hard as she could. The man grabs the spear effortlessly, crushing it in his massive paws and chucking Jack back at her in return, bowling her over as the two are forced back into the building. When he looks back up at Vikna, she's laying on the ground, his thoughts immediately springing to his worst possible fear. When he makes his way over to her, the SS drives his foot into the mans face, making him do a backflip before slamming back into the wall.

“You killed one of my brothers.” The leopard says. “Now I'll kill something precious to you.”

He picks Vikna up off the ground by her neck, her form completely limp as he places both his hands on her neck. He begins squeezing, Vikna waking quickly after that as her tail flails fruitlessly, trying her hardest to pull his hands off her neck. Her legs are flailing in line with her tail, slowly losing strength as his grip gets tighter around her neck. Jack desperately tries to get up, his body not wanting to respond. He moves his hand, looking for something to throw. He needed something, anything, please god let there be something! As Vikna's light is about to fade, a massive exoskeleton barrels into the SS, making him lose his grip on Vikna as she takes deep breaths of fresh air. The exoskeleton contained a familiar white haired artist, who slams his fist down onto the helmet of the SS, breaking it in half like an egg. The SS returns the gesture, slamming his fist into Fluff's face as the exo-clad man is flung off him. Jack feels something drop down on his chest, looking down and seeing an ice spear on top of his shirt. He looks over at Vikna, who gives him a slight smile before going limp on the floor. He knows what he needs to do.

He gets himself off the ground, the SS now focused on crushing Fluff under his boot. Jack charges forth, feeling energy coursing through his veins as he leaps into the air, the SS turning around just in time for Jack to stab the spear through his eye with as much force as he could muster. The SS falls down on the ground, Jack pushing the spear in as far as it'll go before turning his attention back to the other SS. He holds his head in a panic as he looks back at Jack, the man taking the blood covered ice spear and charging back into the room the Marines were being held hostage. As he hops in through the hole he made earlier, the SS regains his composure just in time to slam his fist into the spear, shattering the craftsmanship his wife had tried so hard to create for him. Ayn wasn't going to waste an opportunity like this, rushing over to Jack's aid as she throws her staff at the SS. The massive stone on the end collides with the helmet on the cheetah, this one being significantly less brawny than the leopard.

As Jack closes in, his arm sparks with Tau as he slams his fist into the helmet of the cheetah, smashing the helmet to pieces as it's his turn to fly through a wall. Jack doesn't let him go far, however, making his way over to the dazed cheetah before getting on top of him. He slams his fist down on his throat, feeling the soft, fragile bones of his esophagus cave in as he begins to choke. Jack holds his hand on top of the cheetah, choking the SS out as they had tried to do to his wife. Tau is sparking around the hallway, hitting various parts of it as the cheetah's struggles begin to lessen. As Jack feels the struggle completely drain from the SS, he lets go of the man, his Tau fueled rampage leaving him incredibly drained. He tries to get up, only to fall back to the ground beside the dead SS. Ayn rushes out to assist him, Jack putting his arm up to stop her.

“Get Vikna.” He says, taking a deep breath as he feels like his entire body is on fire.

Ayn nods, making her way over to Vikna as Fluff stands next to Jack.

“I have to say, that was pretty fucking cool.” He says, offering Jack an armored hand, which he takes.

“Maybe I'll write a book about it.” Jack says with a groan, holding his back as he feels himself begin to sweat profusely. “Feel like I'm burning up.”

“Because you're still learning how to control your magic.” He replies. “Try to practice when you can.”

“You guys!” Jack yells, pointing past Fluff and to his Marines. “Since you got to sit and watch me beat up some bad guys, go make yourselves useful and sweep the perimeter with thermals!”

One of the Staff Sergeants nods, getting his men up as they all file out through the doorway. As Jack turns around, he sees one of the medics from the Sianian guard come up to him, her hands glowing a medicinal green as she approaches him. He holds his arms out in a T, allowing the woman to run her hands over his injuries.

“A healer?” Fluff asks. “As a medic?”

“Well, not all of us want to sit in high class hospitals only servicing the old and wealthy.” She replies. “Besides, I believe the First Sergeant and I became quite acquainted when he was still the Gunny.”

“Heya Lia.” He says, pieces of glass and splinters falling from his arms and head.

“I prescribe bed rest, water, and a change of socks.” She tells him, lowering her arms.

“Check, check, and, uh, check?” Jack asks, looking around.

“Don't worry. I'll let you borrow some of mine.” The man in the exo tells Jack.

“I've seen yours. I don't want any ARA fetish socks, thank you very much.” Jack says with a smirk.

“Damn, that actually hurt a little.” He jokes. “I'll get you some Vikna socks instead.”

“Now those, I'll take a whole box of those.” Jack says, making his way down the hallway before his legs turn to jello. “Fuuck...”

He steadies himself on the wall and grunts with effort, doing his best to force his body to obey his will. He's hoisted up by Lia, the surprisingly strong jackal helping him over to a bed that isn't occupied.

“No.” Jack says, stopping in his tracks.

He points to Vikna, who's sleeping soundly in a cot by herself. Lia nods, making her way over to the cot she's sleeping on. She sets Jack down on the side, the man able to sit down on his own.

“When I wake up, we're taking the Tower.” Jack says. “These men weren't trained in orbital drop shock, they were trained for the sole purpose of seizing and commanding stations and ships.”

“You'll need a bit more rest than that.” Fluff says. “You forget that we're both halfway through our natural lives. We're old men.”

“That's just it.” Jack says with a grin. “You always fear an old man in a profession where men die young. This wrinkly old man still has some fight left in him, much as I suspect of you.”

“If you say so.” He says.

“Fluff, I've taken many different leadership courses both at home and over seas. I've learned what makes up a bad call, a good call, and a call that's the lesser of two evils.” Jack says, looking down at the floor. “I know when to make a call, and this is a pretty good call.”

“And I know that helping take back Liertz is also a good call.” Vikna says, putting her arms around his waist. “Maybe even a better call. The Tower is pretty safe right now and, if Zeta can keep them in line, the AI are safe too. I saw that little independence protocol you snuck into ARA after the first time the Tower was besieged.”

“Yeah. I needed to make sure that she was able to run if everyone else got screwed over.” He says.

“What about Rei?” Jack asks.

“He's...” Fluff pauses. “...hurt, but still alive. He can wait.”

“No.” Jack says, getting up off the bed before falling to the floor. “No, we need to go now.”

“Jack...”

“Get me to my suit, I'll-”

“JACK!” He shouts, picking the man up off the floor. “You need to rest. You were shot, bludgeoned, thrown through a wall and a window, and nearly burned your body out in the span of two days. You're exhausted.”

“I can't-”

“LISTEN TO ME!” The man yells, hoisting Jack up into the air. “Get some rest. You can't keep pushing yourself so hard.”

“I'll take over.” Ayn says, grabbing Jack out of Fluff's hands like the man was some kind of teddy bear.

“Ayn, I need to do this...” Jack says as she lays him back down on the cot.

“We need to rest.” She tells him, Vikna latching herself onto him as Ayn puts the blanket over them both. “You've done more than enough for today. Lick your wounds and sleep it off.”

“I...I...” He says. “Okay.”

Jack rolls himself to face Vikna as she begins purring against him, licking the blood off his cheek as he feels himself go limp, still conscious as she tends to his dirty face. He's too weak to even speak. She flips him onto his back, having been close to doing so already as she climbs on top of him, purring and licking the entire way. She may not have any rough left on her tongue, but that doesn't stop her from cleaning his face anyway. He wants to hug her, kiss her, do anything to show his appreciation, but he's completely and utterly spent. She seems to read his mind, however, and does them both at the same time, wrapping her arms around his body and planting a kiss on his lips. With that, he's back off to sleep, hoping the next time he wakes up that he'll be able to do something more useful than sap his own strength.

1 day later

Jack feels someone shaking his arm violently, stirring him from his sleep as his hearing returns from his sleep. He hears...crickets? His eyes shoot open and he looks around, sitting in a bed of grass as Vikna looks around in confusion. Jack looks around, getting a full 360 view of the place before his eyes settle on Ayn, who's sitting with her legs crossed and her staff in the center of her folded legs. When he gets himself up, Ayn seems to float up off the ground, planting her feet and turning around before giving him a smile.

“Ah, you're finally awake.” She says with a smile, not so much walking as imitating the action while floating. “I was worried you'd succumbed to your injuries.”

“Ayn, I didn't know you could fly.” Jack says.

“Ayn can't fly.” She says. “Ayn isn't here right now, you're talking to...well...let's give me a name you'll understand and relate to. I am the Aphrodite of this place. Or would you rather call me Venus?”

“Both the same thing.” Jack says. “Uh, should I be bowing or saluting or...”

“None of that. While Ayn may not be me, she still shares some of my personality traits, like hating authority.” She says with a smile.

“Edgy.” Jack says.

“You don't understand.” She says.

“Except I do. I was thirteen once as well. Grew out of it after a couple years, though.” Jack jokes.

“Jack, you're talking to a goddess.” Vikna says, punching him in the side. “At least try and be respectful.”

“Well, can I ask you where we are?” He asks.

“You're in my forest. I'm sure your wife can feel it in her nethers?” Ayn asks in return, looking over at Vikna.

“S-stop it...” She says, covering her self up. “It's hard enough to resist pinning him down without you teasing me.”

“Oh, empty threats are the best threats.” The goddess tells her with a smirk. “I'm showing myself to you right now because this Bhainen character was slated to crack the planet with that battle cruiser you destroyed. I'm here to thank you for getting rid of it.”

“Well...you're welcome.” Jack replies with a smile. “Say you're welcome, Vikna.”

“Yeah, what he said.” She says, laying back down on the ground. “Fucking Christ, I hate this forest.”

“You love the forest.” Aphrodite tells her with a smile. “My little breeding forest is your favorite place. I recall you wanting to have your honeymoon here before your husband here interjected.”

“S-shut up!” Vikna yells.

“There's the old Vikna.” Aynphrodite says with a chuckle. “Well, I would like to warn you about our mutual friends. Nytro and Zofie are currently fighting for their lives, they will most likely die if you don't intervene within the next twelve hours.”

“How do you know?” Jack asks.

“I'm a goddess, sweetie.” She says, sauntering her way over to him before running her fingers along his shoulder. “When Ayn has had as much sex as she has with that man, I tend to take an interest in people like him. He's still relatively young, virile, and she likes him.”

“She likes everybody.” Vikna says.

“True, very true.” Aphrodite says. “Still, I came here to ask if you could go and-”

“Done.” Jack says.

“What? You didn't even let me finish.” She says giving him a quizzical look.

“You just told me two of my best friends are in trouble.” Jack says. “What reason could I possibly have to not go off and help them?”

“I can't tell if you're either really brave or really stupid.” She says.

“He's stupid.” Vikna says in reply.

“I'm stupid.” Jack echoes.

“Well, I guess that settles it.” She says. “Before I put the two of you back, I need to give you some advice. As thanks for saving this planet the first time. Jerk off a few times before you make your next son. It'll save you a lot of stress.”

“Would he be like me if I don't?” Jack asks, feeling his heart sink into his chest at the revelation.

“His condition would be much, much worse.” She replies.

“Thank you!” Jack says, dropping to a knee as Vikna looks on, confused.

“Oh, sweetie.” She says, putting a hand on his shoulder, the man no longer able to face the woman who just saved his son's life.

“I don't get it, why is he so upset?” Vikna asks.

“Do you not know his greatest fear?” Aphrodite asks.

“Going through another war?” She asks.

“No, it's giving life to a son who's afflicted with his...condition.” She replies. “Though, I suspect his condition isn't as strong as it could be, correct?”

“Y-yes, but it's still in my DNA.” Jack says unsteadily before pulling the goddess into a hug. “You have no idea how thankful I am.”

“I'm able to draw some semblance.” She says, hugging him back with a comforting gentleness.

“Is that why you-”

“Cried?” He asks. “Yeah.”

“Okay, you can let him go now.” Vikna says, a little more than impatient with the goddess.

She does so, helping the man to his feet before standing back.

“Anything you'd like me to do before you go?” She asks. “Any...enhancements?”

“I couldn't ask you to do anything more.” Jack says. “I'll walk back to base, if it's more convenient for you.”

“No, the base is on the other side of the planet.” She says. “Vikna, anything you'd like to request?”

Vikna takes a second, rubbing under her chin as she ponders for a second. She grabs at her ass and her boobs, rubbing the side of her face a few times and rubs her tail. When she fiddles with her ear, the other one flicks back and forth before she runs her hand along her tongue, rubbing her hair before looking up at the goddess. Aphrodite nods, Vikna taking off her clothes and sticking her fingers up her ass as Jack looks on in confusion.

“What are you doing?” Jack asks, wondering where her decency went.

“Checking my body.” She replies, sniffing her finger before licking once, twice, three times. “Damn, I really do taste good.”

Aphrodite looks over at Jack, giving him a smile as he cocks his head. Why's she looking at him? When Vikna turns back to Jack, she grabs his arm, putting it up to her chest, more specifically her boob.

“What do you think?” She asks. “Bigger, firmer, more symmetrical, what do you want?”

“Vikna, you're embarrassing me.” He says, blushing a bit.

“This is all for you.” She says. “You're a perfect fit for me, so I don't want anymore girth or length. Your stamina though...”

“I can increase his stamina, but he'll lose the ability to blow as many loads as he wants.” Aphrodite replies. “That's something you need to work out for yourself.”

“Bummer.” She says. “What do you want? Bigger tits? I know how much you like these.”

“I...I like them, but I like them the way they are.” He says, hearing her begin to pant and moan. “You okay?”

“Fuck, we either need to go or you need to rail me.” She says, grabbing at his cock.

“We don't have time to bone.” Jack says. “Ayn, er, Aphrodite, mind sending us back?”

“I will do so post haste.” She says, Jack feeling Vikna's pants pull up on their own as the feline yelps with excitement. “Farewell, the next time we speak, I will be Ayn.”

Jack blinks and he's back in the makeshift hospital, holding Vikna in his hands as she takes a deep breath. When the two of them release each other, she looks down, a little saddened when she looks at her form. When she gropes them, however, she grins with delight.

“A little bit more symmetrical.” She says with excitement. “Not enough for anyone but me to notice.”

“That's because I didn't even know that was a thing.” Jack replies. “Asymmetrical tits, that is.”

“That's bullshit and you know it.” Vikna says, the man smiling at being caught.

“Where have you two been?” Fluff asks. “You've been gone for an hour.”

Jack looks back and sees the man has lost his exo by now, just wearing a t-shirt and some shorts.

“Sex forest, Aphrodite, long story.” Jack says. “We need to get going ASAP.”

“What, why?” He asks.

“Zofie and Nytro are in trouble.” Jack replies. “Big trouble.”

“How do you know?” He asks.

“Aphrodite told me.” Jack replies.

“Aphrodite? What?” He asks.

“That Aphrodite analog you made.” Jack says.

“Oh, her.” He says, looking over to Ayn's bed.

As he says that, Ayn wakes with a start, taking a deep breath in as she looks around the room, wide eyed.

“Oh my god...” She says. “We need to go, now!”

“Alright, alright!” Fluff says. “We'll get everyone ready.”

3 hours later

Nytro takes another shot at an advancing soldier. The rifle in his hands lets loose a projectile that pierces straight through the armor on the alligator, Nytro dropping the magazine and loading another into the magazine well. When he loads the magazine, he hits the bolt release and takes another shot at an advancing soldier, knowing he wasn't going to last much longer.

“SPOTS!” He yells out desperately. “YOU NEED TO RUN!”

As he says that, a shot hits above him, showering him in sparks. He looks back, seeing Zofie still watching the doorway before blasting out the corner before Velheim finishes off what she was shooting at with a rifle of his own.

“Not on your life!” She yells back. “Verpiss dich, Arschloch!”

He growls before hearing a clinking below him, kicking the grenade back out of the balcony with instincts he didn't know he had. Something about tennis balls. The grenade explodes in the parking lot below, blowing a few men to bits while others are killed by shrapnel. He fires a couple of shots into more soldiers, looking up at the battle cruiser the Serkonian Navy should've taken care of by now. The blue particles on the massive ship were hard to miss, the repurposed FTL cannon being charged as it's being pointed directly at the planet. His ears fold back as he looks back at spots, the canine looking back at him with dread in her eyes.

“Ark...” She says pitifully before he looks back up again, just in time to see a massive green laser slam into the side of the battle cruiser.

The laser is followed by a ship that looks significantly smaller than the cruiser, blasting it with a projectile cannon of some kind as the battle cruiser is moved off course. The shot travels straight through the side of the battle cruiser, continuing on into space as the tiny ship maneuvers in a way Nytro would think impossible for a ship that size. The FTL cannon fires, missing the planet before a massive burst of plasma hits the broadside of the ship. He begins hearing the whining of a turbine, a distinct sound he remembers from a long time ago in the Sianian desert. The street below him explodes into thunder, tossing shrapnel everywhere before the distinct BRRRT of a rotary cannon is heard. Did Serkonian air support switch over to rotaries? He also didn't remember calling in any air support either.

“Any of you call that in?!” He asks, the gunfire being considerably lessened by the gun run.

“Nein!” They both say in unison, continuing to fire into the hallway of the office building.

Just as they say that, Nytro hears something akin to an explosion above him, followed by roaring of chemical thrusters as a few jetpacks with armored men attached to them fall from the sky. When they land, the soldiers waste no time firing on anyone in the streets, taking out the remaining enemies still alive as none of the opposing forces even get a shot off. When he gets a closer look at the soldiers, they look almost exactly like...

“No way...” He says.

His thoughts are cut short as a cheetah kicks him square in the chest, getting on top of him in the blink of an eye before using his body as a shield. Velheim's reaction is immediate, taking aim at the cheetah man, who puts a gun to Nytro's head.

“Stand down or I'll shoot.” The cheetah says with a confident smoothness, Zofie being the first to drop her shotgun while Velheim follows her example.

“Easy there, friend.” Velheim says, holding a hand up. “Don't hurt him. We're just trying to survive here.”

“You killed dozens of my comrades and you expect me to spare his life?” The cheetah asks, a loud thud being heard on top of the roof. “Ah, that must be more of them come to support me.”

“You won't win.” Nytro says, struggling against the man before being reigned in, a massive thud being heard behind the two. “You never will.”

“Please, tell me exactly why I won't win while you're currently sitting under my boot?” He asks, the sound of boot falls coming behind the cheetah making his ears swivel behind him.

“I have a bigger boot.” The familiar voice of the one man he never thought he'd want to see replies.

With that, he feels the arm around his neck disappear, a muffled crunch and a pained screech coming from behind him as he sees Jack pull the cheetah's arms back hard, breaking them both in the process. He then lets the man down, pointing to Zofie and motioning for her to turn around. She does so, Jack raising his boot as the cheetah cries out in fear, his skull becoming nothing more than a pile of squishy residue under the super soldier's boot. He draws a pistol and points at the door, the sidearm erupting with two shots as two men drop at the doorway.

“JACK!” Zofie shouts with joy, running her way over to the super soldier before pulling him into a hug. “You came!”

“Not the first time I've heard that, but it usually ends in 'too early'.” Jack replies jokingly. “By the way, portals are ours now.”

“Jesus Christ.” He says, Zofie letting go and making her way back to the door. “How long have you been here?”

“Three days tops.” Jack replies. “Memory's a bit hazy since I got shot, nearly dying a few times since I came here. Came literally the moment I got up from my second bout of sleeping my injuries off.”

“Wait, wasn't the portal device one of the most heavily guarded places on Siania, despite it being completely destroyed?” He asks.

“I brought an entire platoon of super soldiers.” Jack replies, pointing his pistol at the doorway before firing into drywall behind Velheim. “Also brought some specially trained Marines to take the Tower back.”

“How the fuck?” Nytro asks, seeing a body fall where Jack had shot the wall.

“Motion tracker.” He replies. “Surprised you don't have those.”

“That's some really high level stuff.” He says. “Like, only SS get those things.”

“SS?!” Velheim asks angrily. “FUCKING SCHUTZSTAFFEL!”

“Not that kind of SS!” Jack yells back. “SS is an acronym for super soldier here.”

“Oh...” He says, grabbing his rifle off the ground before Jack checks his pistol, the slide stuck open.

“Fucking empty. Mags and rifle burned up in atmosphere. Remnants of greenhouse gasses.” Jack says, pulling a half melted piece of metal off his back. “Guess it's for asteroids?”

“Makes it harder for pirates to enter the atmosphere. All authorized ships are given the proper shielding to enter the atmosphere for free if they don't have it already.” Nytro says before sighing. “I don't have any more guns that you can use. Sidearm's busted and this rifle is nearly out of ammo. Can't you make swords with your suit?”

“They rely on my shields. I'd rather like to keep as much of those intact as possible.” He replies. “Are you sure you don't have anything I can use?”

“Well...” He says, looking over to a corner of the room. “I do have one thing.”

He grabs a sword off the ground, tossing it over to Jack who catches it. This was the sword he gave Nytro over 7 years ago.

“Is this considered giving back a gift?” Jack asks.

“No, it's my backup.” He replies. “Don't break it.”

“I won't.” Jack replies. “Is Zofie fighting or leaving?”

“Leaving.” Nytro says.

“Fighting.” She counters.

“We don't have time to argue. Pick one or the other.” Jack says, readying the sword as his shields boost enough to slightly glow. “More guns are welcome, but keeping all of you safe is my highest priority.”

“Aren't you noble?” Nytro asks.

“No, just stupid.” Jack replies. “Let's get out of this building. It's advantageous to stay here only if you know when resupply is coming.”

Jack makes his way out the door first, getting blasted with a shotgun the moment he steps out of the door before his shields flare. He turns to the offending man and runs at him with the sword, the blade slicing into something on the other side of the wall as Nytro hears a pained scream. Jack comes back into the doorway, his shields flashing before going invisible again.

“Come on.” He says. “Time's wasting.”

“Whoa, what's the rush?” Nytro asks. “Streets are clear and the gunfire has stopped. Serkonian Navy just blasted that ship out of the sky and your soldiers are clearing the building.”

“The rush is that I want to get back home in time for my boy to turn nine.” Jack replies. “After a few surgical strikes, this whole operation is going to explode. Bhainen will be dead, his forces will be scattered, and I'll be able to go home and enjoy the sanity that I just fought for.”

“Sanity?” Nytro asks.

“I'm sane now.” Jack replies. “Paperwork cleared me as fit for duty on the way here.”

“Christ, man, how?” He asks.

“Three months in a dream.” Jack replies. “No, wait, it was less than that. Eight hours I think?”

“So, you're saying it felt like three months?” He asks.

“No, I'm saying my experience was three months.” Jack replies. “In reality it was eight hours.”

“The hell kind of dream was it?” He asks.

Jack looks off to the side, shaking his head before looking up at him again.

“The kind that would tear Vikna apart if she knew.” Jack replies. “Now, let's get out of here.”

2 hours later

Jack is sitting in a nearly empty meeting room, dressed in his old BDUs with an 8 point cover sitting in his lap. A few explosions sound outside with gunfire erupting in response, but that's about it. It times perfectly with the old music he's listening to, tapping his foot with the beat as he hums along with it. He's so entranced in his music that he doesn't even notice Nytro and a few anthros enter the room, the human tapping his fingers on the table as he bobs his head.

“Having fun?” A man asks, instantly snapping Jack out of his music induced trance.

He looks over to see a few elderly looking anthros, a feline, a canine, and a jackal all standing in the doorway as Nytro rubs behind his neck nervously.

“Sorry about my, uh, acquaintance.” Nytro says with a nervous smile. “He's a bit eccentric.”

“So, you're the famous Gunny?” The canine asks.

“Well, of course he is!” The jackal replies. “Look at him. He's the spitting image of the statues in our sector!”

“I believe there's a fountain in one of the squares with him inside the fountain.” The feline old feline adds.

“I'm not naked, am I?” Jack asks with a smile. “I'm Jack by the way. I, uh, did some stuff for the old world district.”

“Ancient world district.” The dog says.

“Old world district.” The feline, jackal, and Nytro both respond with, the canine whining dejectedly.

“Well, anyway, we know who you are.” The canine replies. “I'm the current Serkonian governor Kal. This is Feryl, the governor of the Sianian portion of Serko, and this is Serviovich, a representative of the old Katrician sector.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. We met in the palace once.” Feryl says, her lips curling into a smile. “Though, it wasn't for very long, so you may not remember me.”

“Well, we get to meet face to face now.” Jack says. “My wife needed some rest after a battle on Siania, since she got knocked around by an SS and had me thrown at her by the same guy.”

“Must have been rough.” Kel says, making his way to the other side of the table. “What's that music? I've never heard anything like it before.”

“Oh, you like it?” Jack asks.

“Sounds somewhat amusing, yes.” Kel says with a smile, the song dying down as Jack pauses his tablet. “Down to the matters at hand.”

“Mister Gunnery Sergeant.” Serviovich says, her thick Katrician accent nearly drowning out what she might want to say. “We need your help again. I know it was only four years ago when we last asked for your assistance, but we may require it again to repel Bhainen.”

“What's the situation?” Jack asks, sitting up and hoping to get some actual intel. “What planets have been hit?”

“Katric went dark first, being the center of the invasion. When the Tower was taken, Katric's long range communication went with it, the entirety of Kaltag's AI being taken over as well. Most of the ships we have now are relying on KineTine anthroids and they aren't nearly as effective as the Kaltag variety. The ground troops are so much faster and more effective than Separationist forces that we were caught completely off guard, even with our defenses at relatively high alert.” She explains. “With Katric now in the possession of Bhainen, the portal device project the director was working on was taken with it, being the reason an entire quarter of the galaxy was taken down so quickly. Every single planet has at least three ships above it, one of which equipped to crack a planet in less than an hour if resistance gets too heavy.”

“That's not like Bhainen.” Jack says. “He likes to fight in space, not on the ground.”

“We thought that too.” Kel says. “Turns out he's not out to win a war. He's mad, beyond mad. He's out for political victories and power, settling old grudges and murdering anyone who dares oppose him. He's cracked almost thirty planets by now and it doesn't look like he's going to stop any time soon.”

“Where is he at right now?” Jack asks.

“We don't know.” He replies. “He's probably close to Katric, but it's become a fortress world that nobody has been capable of penetrating. Nothing we have can even scratch any of their heavy battle cruisers that make up their outer ring. They even have a portal jammer there, not that it matters. The portal system was destroyed by the director to prevent our world from leaking into yours.”

“What if I told you we found the second device the Separationists used to bring their armies to Siania?” Jack asks, Feryl's massive ears perking up at the mention.

“Impossible. It was destroyed.” Kel says. “Wasn't it?”

“For once, I'm glad the US military was completely and utterly incompetent.” Jack replies. “They encased it in concrete and Bhainen dug it back out.”

The entire room of older looking anthros gives him a disapproving look, Jack raising his hands up in protest.

“Hey, I'm not responsible for what the world does with their military.” Jack replies. “Something about picking noses.”

“Well, even then, the portal device is completely incapable of going anywhere close. They made an active denial system to keep any and all portals a great distance away from Katric. We'd have to destroy that first.” Serviovich says. “Not to mention the all encompassing shield around Katric.”

“What do any of you know about MAC guns?” Jack asks.

He looks around the room, nobody knowing what he's talking about.

“Well, there's this thing that the Navy above us called the MAC gun, the acronym being short for Magnetically Accelerated Coil gun. Fires a very large projectile at incredibly high speeds with enough force behind them to blast through a capitol ship.” Jack replies.

“How do you know it'll penetrate the armor on a heavy battle cruiser?” Serviovich asks.

“Because the one I have in mind went straight through both sides of a battle cruiser at a 45 degree angle.” Jack replies. “The slug is over half a meter in diameter. If it hits, it's going to destroy whatever it does.”

“Which ship is that on?” Kel asks.

“It's not on a ship.” Jack replies. “It IS a ship. Those frigates are giant, flying guns and they're optimized specifically to destroy ships without projectile shielding.”

“Wait, projectile shields?” Serviovich asks. “Are those even possible? I've heard of hard light shields, but projectile shields are something else entirely, especially on the scale of a ship.”

“They're not only possible, but every ship up there has one.” He replies. “Even if they had something to defend against it, the MAC gun is so powerful that it doesn't even matter. It'd still pierce the armor.”

“I've seen what those MAC guns can do.” Nytro adds. “I saw it blow straight through that planet cracker like it wasn't even there. Ship moved like nothing I've ever seen before.”

Jack extends a pointed finger to Nytro before setting his hand back down on the table.

“Well, how many of these frigates do you have?” She asks.

“Right now, we have two.” Jack replies. “There's also two of those MAC guns mounted on turrets on the battleship in orbit.”

“Wait, are you actually telling me that you have a battleship? A design so antiquated it was phased out while it was still a term used in sea-faring vessels?” Kel asks.

“I don't think the Garland's Hammer is any bit less effective than a heavy battle cruiser.” Jack replies. “The only problem we have with it right now is that it's the only one. It can not get swamped or we've already lost.”

“Why not?” He asks.

“Because everything we need to fight this war, including super soldiers and space Marines, are all housed inside that battleship.” Jack replies.

“Well, we're here to seek your advice.” Kel says. “Your wife is unavailable and her father is currently leading raids above the planet.”

“Well, I'll tell you what the plan is.” Jack says. “We have two options. They both involve taking back the Tower and using it as a springboard for an invasion. Our first option is that we take it from the top down. We activate all the Kaltag AI that were deactivated and get the ships back into full working order. Believe me, for the next part of the plan, we need to have everything working as well as we possibly can.”

“What do you have in mind?” Serviovich asks. “I hope it's not more nukes. Katric doesn't like having nuclear detonations happen only a few dozen miles above their heads.”

“That was a last resort that we hopefully don't have to rely on.” Jack says. “So, next part involves using FTL to move around the planet and do surgical strikes on ships before running. Hit and run with FTL.”

“How is that possible? It takes far too long to recharge FTL capacitors after a jump for that kind of tactic to work, not to mention the calculations required are far in excess of what our current TVK units can manage.” She says.

“Because you're not navigating through FTL correctly.” Jack replies. “You're traveling in straight lines and against space time itself. Instead, you can use the pathways already weaved into space. They're like fissures in space that you can ride along to get to your destination. That's why the frigates can run around with reactors you'd usually find in a small FTL liner.”

“We've never heard of things like this.” Kel says.

“Because you never needed to look for things like this. Half your reactors are powered by the single most powerful force in the entire galaxy. The black hole giving you magical abilities. You can brute force your way through FTL no problem when you literally have the power of a collapsed star powering you.” Jack replies. “However, the other reactors you use for deep space are the best that I've ever seen anywhere in any universe. If there was a reactor suited for these hit and run techniques, it's yours.”

“Well, how will we navigate these fissures that you claim exist?” Serviovich asks.

“You'll be given calculations to look for them and follow them. The calculations are too complex for KineTine AI. Needs at least a 12 petabyte system to run and it'll burn those AI up like a bonfire.” Jack replies.

After Jack finishes that, the door flies open, Vikna in a cast as she pants like mad.

“Please tell me you didn't just say something stupid!” She yells, leaning against the doorway as she catches her breath.

“I was just telling them your plan.” Jack replies.

“You told random people my plan?!” She asks angrily.

“Blue, these are all leaders of the various sectors on Serko.” Nytro replies. “We're trying to organize a counter attack. Somehow, I knew this wasn't his plan.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. It's been a long time since I was last here and elections must've already finished.” She says with a sigh. “Jack, go outside and let the strategists talk strategy. I know you try, but this is a bit more complex than you give it credit for.”

He nods, taking his tablet as Vikna groans.

“Please tell me you didn't do the pen tapping thing when they came in.” She says, head against the door frame.

“Would you be mad if I said yes?” Jack asks.

She rubs her face with her one good arm, waving him out as Nytro chuckles at the man's misfortune. Jack exits the room, the door closing behind him as he turns his music back on, giving him time to reflect back on those days that the Lavor tried to take away from him.

16 years ago

Jack is sitting on the bed, cleaning out his 240 with a wire brush as Vikna fiddles with a weapon of her own. She's cussing under her breath, weapon shaking as she tries to force whatever is on it, off it. She finally manages to do so, but not without half the contents of the pistol spilling onto the floor first.

“You don't have the faintest clue how to disassemble your weapon, do you?” Jack asks, looking down at the mess on the floor.

“I do too!” She yells back. “It's just stiff!”

Jack looks at the mess on the floor and then at her again, closing his eyes with a smile.

“Whatever you say.” He says, setting down his own half assembled weapon. “Give it to me, I'll fix it.”

“What? You don't even know what this is.” She says.

“Looks like a Desert Eagle, bet it operates like one too.” Jack replies, setting himself down on the floor as he gathers the pieces.

Vikna sighs, giving him the rest of the gun as he gets off the floor, taking a look at the parts in his hands. He runs his hands over all of them, getting grease and residue on his hands in the process before getting a general idea for how the gun is put together.

“So, guns are like puzzles.” Jack says, putting the bolt back into the rear slide. “Just need to look at them for a while to figure out where everything goes. Bolt goes in the slide, slide pin goes in the side, insert the slide into the frame of the gun, and bingo, you've got yourself a fully assembled pistol.”

“How'd you figure it out so fast?” She asks.

“When I was a kid, I got really good at taking things apart. Eventually, my parents told me I'd better get good at putting things back together or I'd be paying a lot of money for new, unbroken things.” Jack says, Vikna chuckling at that. “So, I started learning how to put things back together and learned most things are made to be assembled by low paid Chinese workers. If some guy with little prospect for education can put together something as complex as a missile, I'm pretty sure I can learn how to put together a pistol.”

She takes the pistol back, checking the function of the weapon before smiling.

“Wish I could do that.” She says, letting the slide down as Jack continues cleaning his disassembled weapon. “That's a really useful skill.”

“Well, I can't apply it to everything. Say, if you took a car apart, there's too much bullshit going on that I can't understand for me to put it back together. Not that I haven't tried, mind you.” He says before taking a drink of the beer she had brought a case of to her room. “What is this stuff? It's amazing.”

“Dutvuanian brew.” She replies. “Was my dad's favorite.”

“My dad's specialty was Bud Light and whatever he could steal from my mom's wine cellar.” Jack tells her with a chuckle. “This tastes better than either of those. Alcohol has no business being sweet.”

She nods, setting the pistol back on her night stand as she lays her head on his shoulders, a contented sigh leaving her mouth as she licks at her nose. He's very tempted to pet her fur, but he knows if he does that, she'll have grease and carbon residue in her hair. He begins putting the freshly cleaned weapon back together, a knock coming from the door as Vikna shoots off the bed. The door opens and she's already half way across the room, slowing her pace once the door opens.

“What's the big idea barging into my room like this?” She asks.

“Another patrol, ma'am. They want you in sector seven of-”

“I know where they want me. They want me in the pirate lane again.” She says with a sigh. “Unfortunately, my ship is in dry dock. Last time I went into that lane, I got my ass chewed up and I still haven't been given my repair drones.”

“Kavkor-”

“Don't tell me that it's an order because my reactor is completely inoperable.” Vikna tells him. “Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I couldn't go out there. What am I supposed to do? Push my ship into orbit?”

He shakes his head as Jack clacks the top cover down on his MG, drawing the attention of the very short tiger as his eyes go wide.

“What the fuck is that?!” He asks, drawing a pistol.

“WAIT!” Vikna shouts, grabbing the pistol and pushing it down. “He's...something I'm responsible for.”

“Why does it have a gun?!” He asks. “It has a REALLY BIG GUN!”

“Just, don't worry about it!” She yells back.

“Yeah, don't worry about it.” Another voice says outside, immediately grabbing both their attentions.

“Princess!” The tiger says, bowing a bit as a giggle is heard outside.

“Please, no bowing.” She tells him, a canine with very VERY large ears and a very attractive figure making her way past him. “Run along now. I'm very curious to see Vikna's human.”

“A-as you wish!” He says, rushing along as the tall canine makes her way past Vikna.

“Excuse me, I didn't give you permission to come inside!” Vikna protests.

“Last night was good for me too.” She says with a smile, making her way over to Jack as he visibly shrinks away from the amazonian furry. “What's your name?”

“L-Lance C-Corporal H-Haigs...” He says, pulling his gun in close as he has to fight himself to keep from staring at her. “Y-you're really tall...”

“D'aw, Vikna, where'd you pick up this cutey from?” She asks, turning back to Vikna as her green dress threatens to expose more of her ass than was already exposed. “How old is he? He sounds like he's in his mid teens.”

“As far as I can discern, he's twenty one.” She replies.

“Blessed with youthful looks and demeanor.” She says, flashing him a smile as she sits down beside him on the bed. “What's wrong? Does my height intimidate you?”

“Yes...” He replies timidly, looking away from her.

“Oh, I can fix you right up.” She says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Come with me and all your anxiety will melt away.”

“Please, don't fuck my...uh...” Vikna says, looking off to the side.

“Oh, no, please finish.” The canine tells her, a very toothy and uncomfortable smile coming over her muzzle. “I'd love to hear the rest.”

“S-stop it!” Vikna yells, stomping her foot on the ground like a child.

Jack scoots away from the woman, her attention switching back to the man as she pulls him close.

“I'm sure you won't mind me getting a little bit closer to him, won't you?” She asks, pulling his head down to her chest as he struggles against the immovable objects that are her arms.

“I said stop it!” She yells.

“If I was to, say, put him in my lap.” She says, pressing her chest against his back as she keeps his waist pinned against her. “You wouldn't mind?”

“Please, let me go.” Jack says, trying to pry her hands off his hips as even her fingers are like steel traps compared to his own strength.

“Not yet.” She whispers into his ear. “I'm Ayn, by the way.”

“Let him go!” Vikna yells.

“I want to hear the rest of your sentence!” She teases, keeping him in place with her muzzle as she begins undoing his belt. “Mmm, I can sense how much he's going to love my hands.”

“Ayn, stop it!” Vikna tells her. “He doesn't like that!”

“Oh, how would you know?” She asks with a smirk, pulling his trousers down as he struggles to break free from her crushing muzzle.

“Because we've done it!” Vikna yells back. “There, happy?!”

“Well...” Ayn says, looking up at the ceiling. “I guess that says a lot about how much you trust him.”

She lets him go and the man gets up, feeling a slight tightness in his underwear as he pulls his pants back on.

“What'd you do to him?” Vikna asks. “I saw your hands glowing.”

“Nothing you won't like.” She replies. “I need to go see the director. Later, mister.”

He nods, the canine getting up as she struts her way back out of the room.

“Oh, and don't worry about children. I know how antsy you can get about that, Vikna.” Ayn says. “He's not compatible with any of us.”

Vikna's about to say something, but Ayn is already gone, relief washing over her face as she looks back at him.

“She was...something.” Jack tells her. “Was starting to set off some alarm bells though.”

“Oh?” Vikna asks.

“She was reminding me of a bazaar girl.” Jack replies.

“A bizarre girl?” Vikna asks.

“No, a bazaar. It's like an open air market. There are women in bazaars back in Afghanistan who lure men into tents, only to stab them.” Jack replies. “What was with her arms though? Is she an anthroid too?”

“No, she has godly strength.” Vikna replies with a smirk. “Didn't expect you to sabotage yourself like that.”

“How am I sabotaging myself?” He asks.

“You just admitted you were weaker than a woman.” She replies.

“I thought everyone was supposed to be equal?” He asks.

“Have you been talking with ARA again?” She asks in reply.

“Yeah, she told me everyone was equal here.” Jack replies.

“I'll save you the politics.” She says.

“Well, it's not the first time I've said something stupid.” He tells her, taking the gun he dropped off the bed.

“Don't worry about it. She's stronger than just about anyone on the elevator.” Vikna says. “I'm kind of curious though. What did she do?”

Jack looks down, feeling himself up until he reaches his dick. It's significantly longer than it was before as he raises his hands again. He expands them a bit and Vikna's ears stand straighter than they were before, her nodding slightly with approval.

“I'd thank her, but I don't want her to know that I like it.” Vikna says.

16 years later

Jack feels a tap on his shoulder and he bolts awake, having nodded off as he thought about how he first met Ayn.

“Hey, they liked it.” Vikna tells him with a smile. “Don't doze off just yet, old man.”

“Keep saying it and I might start getting wrinkles.” He tells her. “Wouldn't want me to look any worse than I already do, would you?”

“Stop it.” She says with a giggle. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” He says, the blue feline sitting down beside him. “Just a little tired still.”

“Well, nobody is asking you to do anything. We can sit here for a while.” She says, grabbing his arm. “God, even your arm weighs a ton.”

“That's what pure muscle feels like.” He tells her with a smile. “Wait, where'd your casts go?”

“Fell off during the planning phase.” Vikna replies.

“Jack.” Nytro says, taking Jack's attention away from Vikna to reveal a much more disarmed Nytro. “What you did was stupid and reckless. You should've just taken him down without saying anything.”

Jack nods, looking down at the ground before he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“But that one liner was pretty slick.” He says. “Where'd you get that from?”

“It was the first thing I could think of.” Jack replies. “How's Zofie?”

“For the tenth time, she's fine.” He replies. “You worry too much.”

“We'll go through with your plan, Kirov.” Kel says, grabbing everyone's attention. “If the soldiers can destroy any resistance within the next few days, we'll direct all our ships toward Katric to begin the invasion.”

Jack nods, all of the important figures leaving him and his friends alone as Vikna lays her head down on his shoulder.

“Can we go back to the ship now?” She asks.

“Nytro, anything you need me to do?” Jack asks.

“No, I'll call you down if I need you.” He replies. “We've got this handled.”

Jack nods, hefting himself out of the chair as Vikna follows suit.

3 hours later

Jack sits back down on the bed, having just changed out of his clothes before laying back on the mattress. Vikna makes her way over to him, wearing nearly nothing as she slinks her way onto the bed. When she does, she pulls herself onto him, wrapping her tail around his leg as he pulls the 2 of them into the correct orientation. She plants kisses on his cheek, giggling the whole time as he covers them both up with a blanket. She finally goes in for the kill, pushing her lips against his own as he tries to respond in kind, but being too tired to do so. He wraps his arms around her instead, letting her do all the work as he feels himself begin to pass out. Vikna pulls back, both of them taking a deep breath as Jack feels his consciousness return to him.

“If you were passing out, you should've told me!” She says, no longer giving him a kiss, but breathing air into his lungs.

When she pulls herself back off, his arms slide off her back, the man too tired to do anything anymore.

“Are you okay?” She asks, putting a hand up to his head. “No fever, body heat is normal. What the hell is going on?”

“Maybe I really am getting old?” He asks.

“Have you been eating enough?” She asks. “You need thirty five hundred calories a day. That's just to SURVIVE!”

“I...I don't know...” Jack replies, closing his eyes and laying back down on the bed. “I don't feel hungry.”

“Well, maybe you're just tired.” She says, relaxing a bit. “You did a lot today. Tomorrow, you're eating a big breakfast. I'll cook it myself if I have to.”

“I really hope it's just because I'm not eating enough.” Jack says. “We've got a lot more fighting to do.”

“You don't need to lead from the front.” She says, planting a light kiss on his cheek. “You may be an NCO, but you're a senior NCO. As far as I'm aware, I don't see many First Sergeants running around and commanding from the front line.”

“You're thinking of a Master Sergeant, babe.” He tells her. “First Sergeants are in charge of personnel.”

“You can be in charge of personnel from the rear.” She tells him.

“I don't know...” He says.

“At least try it.” She says, moving herself up along his chest. “For me?”

“Well...I'll try it after we take the Tower.” He says. “Just this once.”

“Thank you.” She says, Jack falling asleep shortly after.

18 hours later

Jack wakes up with a reluctant groan, wanting to stay asleep for longer. When he rises out of bed, rubbing his eyes, he feels a distinct lack of Vikna anywhere around him. When he opens his eyes, he confirms that she had indeed left him. He expects to feel panicked, but all he feels is curiosity as to where his wife went. He lays back in his bed, looking up at the rather normal looking ceiling, looking like it was plastered over to make it similar to his home that he grew up in. It makes him smile a bit as he pulls the blanket back over him, turning onto his side. He feels a slight twinge of pain in his side, causing him to hiss as he looks under the covers. The 2 bullet holes in his torso were still there, having been covered up by scar tissue. He touches the wound with his hand and groans, feeling like he was touching a freshly covered sore.

When he hears the door open to the room, he looks up, seeing Vikna bringing in some food on a tray. When she sees him looking back, she smiles gingerly, making her way to the side of the bed with what looks like a mountain of eggs in a bowl. Jack takes them, silently thanking her as he sits up in the bed, hissing a bit from the wounds. She looks on with worry, but his smile gives her all the reassurance she needs. He takes the first bite of eggs, having not realized just how hungry he was. After the first bite, he's practically shoveling the food into his mouth, not stopping for anything outside of getting a breath of air and taking a swig of the sweet electrolyte drink she had brought him. When he finishes the last little pieces of egg, Vikna begins chuckling before laying back on the bed, laughing her ass off.

“Hey, I haven't eaten anything this good in almost three days.” He tells her. “How many calories was this?”

“Only about seven hundred.” She replies. “You probably need more, right?”

“I can't believe I'm still hungry.” He tells her. “That was a pound of eggs.”

“I'll take that as a yes. Do you have enough energy to get up?” She asks.

“Yeah, now I do.” He replies, setting the bowl off to the side. “Did you make these?”

“Yeah, I did.” She replies. “How'd you know?”

He responds by pulling a strand of ice blue hair out of his teeth, the feline blushing bright red underneath her fur.

“W-well, I was in a bit of a hurry.” She says. “If Zofie knew, she'd kill me.”

“It's fine. I know I'm not going to get space AIDS from you.” He tells her with a lighthearted smile. “What else do you have in mind?”

“The galley was serving meatballs for breakfast, which I know you hate.” She replies.

“Don't hate them, just don't like the way you cook them.” He tells her, earning a swat from her tail.

“Rude.” She tells him.

“Sorry, low blow.” He says. “Want me to make you something too?”

“I'm thinking about fish.” She says.

“Fish for breakfast?” He asks, rubbing the top of her head. “You really are a cat.”

1 hour later

Kaya is sitting in the repair bay, fixing exos like she used to, except this time it was for a cause that was worthy. She finishes with the psycho rabbit's armor, having patched up the last of the dents and divots before moving on to her creator's armor. That's when she noticed it was much different than all the others. Despite being much more scuffed and used than the others, it looked a lot newer in design. It wasn't like the Mk. VII she was used to seeing. She takes a look at the armor before connecting her diagnostic tool, having to do a double take when it says Mk. VIII. Either she'd been gone longer than she thought, or she just stumbled upon something one of a kind. Nanites, a reactor with surplus power, shields that can form themselves into shapes, an AI slot, what is this thing?

When she gets to work on repairing the armor, she can already tell the liquid crystal layer is completely and utterly mangled from constant use and no maintenance. She'd have to drain that first before she could work on anything else on the body suit. As soon as the suit presented itself, she connects a hose to both of the feet, draining the dark blue liquid from the suit as it deflates under the negative pressure. When all the fluid is drained, she can see that it's been overheated multiple times, if not on a regular basis as well as allowing to pool for a long time. She groans, connecting a new set of hoses that pump more liquid crystal into the suit as it inflates again with the thick layer of muscle-like polymers. Once it solidifies, she makes her way around back, checking the force multiplying circuits and power supply, both of which were still in excellent condition. The bio-foam injectors all seemed to be full, despite their recent use. Hydrostatic gel layer looks to be a bit viscous, suggesting that he had fully locked his armor without replacing it.

As she continues to work on the suit, a familiar man makes his way into the room, humming a tune she'd heard on Siania multiple times. She finishes pumping in more hydrostatic gel, the fresh layer now capable of protecting him from extreme heat and cold. She turns around to meet the human, the white haired man smiling at her as she turns back to continue working on the armor.

“What's up, Kaya?” He asks, crouching down beside her as she replaces a few key pieces of the armor with fresh armor pieces.

“Fixing Jack's armor. Looks like nobody has maintained it in years.” She says. “Nanites did what they could, but the liquid crystal layer can't just be repaired. Same with the hydrostatic gel used to absorb impacts.”

“I have a very faint idea of what you just said.” He tells her.

“Liquid crystal layer is the muscle, hydrostatic gel is the cushioning.” She explains briefly. “I'd recommend not trying to get inside. I've seen what it does to unaugmented people.”

He nods and she rips another small piece from the chest piece, a bullet hole with dried blood surrounding a nanite block being the only thing keeping the suit sealed.

“That's where he got shot?” The human asks her.

“I guess so.” She replies. “Looks like it deflected into his lung.”

She tosses the piece aside, clicking another piece in place before it locks in automatically.

“So, you're an exo mechanic?” Fluff asks.

“Yeah, I used to work on these kinds of suits before I...well...left.” She says, blushing a bit at her naughty actions. “I'm told that I'm pretty good at it.”

“Looks like you are.” Fluff tells her. “So, what are these?”

“Apparently, this is a THOR mark eight.” She replies. “I've only ever seen mark sixes and mark sevens before. This is definitely ahead of what I'm used to working on. Like, at least seven years ahead, since most of this stuff is still in the prototype phase. Take this helmet for example. The neural network is strengthened for up to a hundred petabytes of flow both ways, not to mention the antenna on it can do half of that with no issues. It could handle two of those AI you made on a single chip, while the ones we have right now could barely handle one.”

“What's it made of?” He asks.

“I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.” She jokes with a smile. “It's a titanium composite that's specially hardened against laser and plasma weaponry. Very effective against small arms fire, but high caliber armor piercing ammunition might give it a bit of trouble. That's how they got through this little piece right here. I can tell from the size of the hole and how little cracking there is that it was a coil gun of some kind.”

“Interesting. He got shot by a really nasty armor piercing round and a rail gun.” Fluff tells her. “You're not as innocent as you look.”

“Oh, I've never actually shot anyone. Phil usually protects me.” She says. “I've had to cut someone before, but it didn't leave too much of a mark on my sanity, since they lived.”

She rips out another piece of the armor, handing it over to Fluff as she puts another piece inside.

“Man, this is pretty heavy.” He says, tossing it in the air and catching it.

“That's only the under layer. The chest piece weighs about a hundred twenty pounds by itself.” She tells him. “May be a little lighter on this model, but I doubt it. Looks like the shields can be formed into shapes, like a sword.”

“What kind of augmentations do they go through to handle this armor?” He asks. “He was able to use the SS augmentations in my universe to wield the armor. Is it similar?”

“I don't know the specifics, but you need your bones to be strengthened and your muscles cushioned in case you need to lock the armor.” She tells him. “Strength augments are recommended too, since the reactors can fail and you need to be able to move with it still on your body. No way to eject that can't be exploited by the enemy, hence all...this.”

She waves her hands around the stand, pointing to the various clamps and drills before looking back at him.

“So, what happens if they're captured?” He asks.

“They explode!” She says, waving her arms up in the air and making an explosion sound with her mouth. “In all seriousness, super soldiers are supposed to detonate their armor in case of capture. Preferably within vaporization distance of the highest ranking commanding officer they can find.”

“Well, I hope Jack doesn't do that.” The man says, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

“He won't need to. This armor is sufficiently advanced and he has a...head on his shoulders.” She says. “Well, the AI inside the chip can make up for any short comings, right?”

“ARA isn't the first choice I'd pick.” He replies. “She's not, strictly speaking, a combat AI.”

“I beg your pardon?!” A voice asks angrily, coming from the helmet as it scares both Fluff and Kaya.

“Oh, she's still listening.” He says, blushing a bit.

“Kaya, please eject my chip from the helmet. I'm going to scold my creator.” She says, the helmet's lights flickering as she speaks.

Kaya doesn't ask any questions, taking the chip out of the back of the helmet as ARA is projected on the floor.

“I'll have you know, mister Kevlar, that I'm the second best choice for mister Jackson to use.” She says. “My optimization of his computational matrix on top of his reactionary circuits has been a great asset to his survival and effectiveness in combat!”

“You made him go insane!” Fluff yells back.

“I provided him with the necessary tools to complete HIS mission. Did he ever tell you what his mission was?” She asks. “It was to eliminate the terrorist cell by ANY MEANS NECESSARY!”

“Can you both be quiet?” Kaya asks. “I'm trying to work on Jack's armor so he doesn't die in the field.”

Junior turns up her nose, disappearing back into the chip as Kaya puts it back into the helmet. Fluff sighs, leaning against the stand as arms on it begin moving.

“All unauthorized and unaugmented personnel should stay at least ten feet away from active THOR exoskeleton armor application systems.” The stand says in a mostly monotone voice.

“Stands don't like normal people by them.” Kaya tells him, tightening a few bolts with a wrench before grabbing an impact driver. “Stupid...thing...”

She finally manages to drive the few loose bolts in place with the impact driver, clacking away as it hammers the bolt in place. When she finishes with that, she stands up, making her way back to the console.

“FTL shielding system looks normal...” She says, testing it out as the chest plate glows bright red before going back to its normal color. “Plasma fusion reactor looks nominal. Surprisingly, it was stopped and restarted recently. Guess the stand has a built in reactor to start it up again.”

“FTL shielding?” Fluff asks, looking over at the screen. “Wait, what are these?”

“Apparently, those are strength amplifying circuits. They increase his strength by almost ten fold for a short duration.” She says. “Otherwise they risk burning his body.”

Fluff thinks back to when Jack came back after a month of destroying the terrorist cell in Liertz, covered in severe burns all along his arms and possibly the rest of his body.

“Even with that, he still couldn't stop a Minotaur...” Fluff says absentmindedly. “I can kind of get why he did that to his body now. He would've stood absolutely no chance against the thing without all those augs and this suit.”

“I've seen a few Minotaurs in my travels.” Kaya tells him. “Looks like the bodysuit itself is still fully functional. The nanites have done their job.”

“So, uh, these augmentations...” Fluff says. “I may have made an outline for them, but my universe kind of filled in all the blanks for me. Including the embarrassing name.”

“Ah, you mean ze SS?” Kaya asks in a mock German accent, Fluff not being amused in the slightest. “Sorry...”

“Yes, them.” He says. “I don't know exactly what kind of augments Jack got.”

“Definitely a neural interface and strengthened bones. No way to use this suit without it.” She says. “Extremely painful, even with sedatives. He also had his original muscles enhanced on top of receiving a fifty percent increase in muscle mass. Enhanced nervous system with augments all around his spine and body to deliver near instant reaction times, those being multiplied while in the suit. His muscular density also seems to act like a Kevlar weave with how dense it is, not to mention his bones won't fracture without being hit with anything less than an anti-material rifle.”

“I heard how painful it was...” Fluff says, shivering as he remembers listening to the recording of his screams.

“Yeah, there was also something to do with his eyes and ears, but I can't remember exactly what they do and I forgot to pay attention when they talked about it in my class.” She says.

He nods, Kaya checking the thrusters as they extend from their housing and move around, clicking as they do so. The ones on the back plate fire for a second before halting themselves, all of the thrusters retracting into the suit.

“What'd you come in here for?” Kaya asks.

“I wanted to ask about him.” He replies. “He created you and you seem to know a lot about him. I want to know what happened. He was a mess, but now he's...almost normal.”

“He had an interesting dream, but that's all I know.” She replies, the arms on the stand beginning to piece the suit together around a skeleton. “Time to give the new muscle juice a test drive.”

When the suit is finished forming itself around the skeleton, Kaya opens up a virtual skeleton of her own, wrapping it around her body before the suit responds, getting on its toes as she looks on in confusion.

“It's the orientation of your feet.” Fluff says. “Hand it over to me.”

She nods, handing the skeleton over to him as he moves his fingers around, the suit responding in kind. He gets into a fighting stance, throwing a few quick jabs as the suit follows his movements flawlessly. Kaya watches as he kicks the air, the suit shadowing his movements with ease. She disengages the link and the suit goes limp, taking itself apart before revealing the skeleton was slightly warped and damaged. Kaya raises an eyebrow as she looks back at the white haired man, who's now blushing.

“Oops...” Is all he can say before Kaya shuts down the diagnostics, picking up the tablet and closing it.

3 days later

Jack is standing on the bridge, watching as the battleship dispatches one of the last remaining enemy ships, a slight crackling coming over coms. The communications officer gets right on it, picking up the very weak signal and amplifying it. It was an encoded message, ARA being the only one on the bridge who could even remotely decrypt what was being sent. She gets to work on the console the communications officer was working at, moving code to form a coherent message as she grumbles the whole time about not having a direct interface. When she cracks the code, the onboard computer does the rest, translating it into an audible message as the coms officer hits play.

“Resistance is failing.” It says, a weak and distant voice says over a radio. “We're down to one division. Anybody, please, send help. Take out the Tower, it's your only chance.”

“ANOTHER BOMBARDMENT!” Another voice screams as shells can be heard coming in, the transmission cutting off shortly after.

“One division?” Jack asks.

“Our army divisions are small, only containing three thousand soldiers.” ARA replies. “That message was sent out from a radio telescope at the north pole. If I had to guess, I'd say the Tower is bombarding them with artillery at the very top of the elevator.”

“BST's doing?” Jack asks.

“Correct.” She replies with a saddened expression, rubbing between her eyes. “Their programming is rigid. They wouldn't listen when I told them to come with me.”

“We'll need to reprogram them.” Jack says, looking over at Vikna. “You can do that, right?”

“If given enough time, I can do anything.” She replies.

“Captain, how soon can you mobilize the fleet?” Jack asks.

“We can mobilize the entire Serkonian fleet in under an hour.” He replies.

“Mobilize them, uh, sir.” He says. “In the meantime, get all the super soldiers and my Marines back aboard. We'll need every single man you can spare for the assault on the Tower. Every man and woman is fighting.”

“You got it, First Sergeant.” The Captain says, getting on coms. “All Marines, prepare for combat drop into a hot LZ. All men prepare to drop within the hour. Expect heavy resistance.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jack says.

“Don't mention it, son.” The man says with a smile. “This war will be over before you know it.”

35 minutes later

Jack is standing in the armor stand, Kaya standing beside it as she taps a few buttons, controlling the arms with her hands as she begins piecing the armor together herself. She's much more gentle than the automated procedure, putting the back piece on first before attaching the chest piece, giving him power immediately as she begins strapping on the various small pieces of armor. He waits patiently as other super soldiers are undergoing the same process, their technicians giving Kaya dirty looks as she smiles back in their direction with unmatched optimism. As she puts the final piece of armor on around his hips and crotch, she gives him a mock salute, the stand presenting his helmet to him as he sets it on top of his head, feeling the connection bridge between the helmet and his suit immediately. He takes his first steps forward and the suit feels much more responsive than it was a few days ago, the helmet smelling like a new car as Junior boots up the menu.

“Hello mister Jackson, is today the day?” She asks.

“It is.” He replies, looking over to see his space Marines in mobility exoskeletons of their own. “Get on the line with the USS Hood.”

“Hello, who's this?” An elderly voice asks, a projection of a falcon's picture asks.

“Captain Starkob, this is First Sergeant Haigs, I need you to be on call for artillery and MAC gun support. Can you do that for me, sir?” Jack asks.

“I'll see what I can do, First Sergeant.” The man replies. “Good hunting.”

Jack closes the channel and makes his way over to the line that was forming, everyone moving forward as soon as he gets in line. The super soldiers march down the hall, shaking the ground with their boot falls as everyone grabs a weapon from the lockers beside the hallway. Jack grabs an anti-material rifle and puts it on his back, grabbing a grenade launcher and a sub-machinegun that he attaches to his hip. He then grabs ammunition satchels from the opposite wall, grabbing as much as he can safely fit on his body before turning the corner, walking into the drop pod room. When he reaches it, Vikna is waving people into their pods, alarms sounding as warning lights swivel around the bay. When Jack reaches his pod, Vikna gives him a thumbs up, which he reciprocates as he checks her armor. He finds a loose strap and tightens it up, the feline letting out a small yelp as he taps her helmet, stepping into the significantly more heavy duty drop pod and putting his weapons in the racks.

When he settles himself down in the pod, straps hook into his back and legs, the man putting his hands on control sticks while Vikna continues herding the super soldiers and SPETMAU into drop pods. When the man is fully locked in, the pod doors close, locking him in as he opens up a screen in front of him, seeing the ships were in position around the battleship. Jack moves the camera around to see many ships that Jack didn't recognize, most likely being of Serkonian origin instead of Katrician origin. As he pans the camera around, he sees the cameras shut down, a sudden lurch being felt as he sees the pod turn itself around inside the bay.

“Arrival in fifteen seconds, prepare to drop in tee minus ten minutes.” The Captain tells the crew. “Might get a bit bumpy.”

Jack sees the ships exit FTL, the cameras activating as he sees a sizable armada in the distance. He taps into the coms between ships and immediately sees a canine who looks confused being hailed.

“Who is this? WHAT is this?” The dog asks, cocking his head. “Who are you people?”

“This is Captain Gunther S. Kowalski of the USS Garland's Hammer. Surrender immediately or be torn to shreds.” The jaguar tells him.

“You and what fleet?” The canine asks with an amused face.

As if on cue, the rest of the fleet appears behind the ship, all guns aimed at both the Tower blockade and the ships below.

“That fleet.” Gunther replies with a smug look of his own.

“Marauder, open fire on the lead ship.” The canine says with an unamused expression, a massive ship turning its guns to face the Garland's Hammer. “Fire when ready. Send them running.”

When the super battle cruiser fires, the shell comes rocketing in, pinging off the shield as the German shepherd's mouth falls open. The battleship turns its own turret toward the battle cruiser, firing both barrels at the massive ship as the shields don't even attempt to stop the shells. When the projectiles penetrate the battle cruiser, the explosion rips the ship in half, ripping through the ship from port to starboard, the lighting going out in one half of the ship as the other half slowly dims as well.

“You were saying?” The jaguar asks.

The line is immediately closed and every single ship opens up immediately, the Garland's Hammer turning to face her cannons toward the threat while keeping an angle as the drop pod bays open up. When the pods are lowered out of the bays, Jack can see the absolute chaos going on outside, shells and lasers flying all over the place as the battleship takes all kinds of punishment. However, it wasn't lying down and taking it, firing back with everything it has as a countdown is displayed on the screen Jack was just watching. He checks that he's buckled in tight, the countdown reaching zero before he's launched out of the bay. He's weightless, a couple screens popping to life as his XNCO, Vikna, and the CO of the super soldiers all pop up on his displays.

“All units, check in.” Jack says.

“First platoon is good to go, First Sergeant.” His XNCO replies.

“Second and third platoon are good to go.” The super soldier replies as well.

“The Marines from the Garland's Hammer say they're good to go. Shuttles are away and they'll be there about five minutes after we land.” Vikna adds. “Hope we last that long.”

“We will.” Jack tells her, switching to the open channel. “Marines, this is the mission you've been training for your entire SPETMAU careers. Everyone and everything that raises a rifle to you is to be considered hostile. We will be encountering extremely heavy resistance in the form of Kaltag combat anthroids, so you better be prepared to kick ass from a distance. Oorah, Marines?”

“Oorah!” He hears over the radio, the ground getting closer every second the pod continues falling.

“We'll be dropping a half a mile outside the entrance to the Tower. Expect heavy enemy presence on the deck.” Vikna adds. “Combat anthroids will be dealt with by the super soldiers and snipers. Everybody else, focus your efforts on the organics and do NOT shoot these priority targets!”

Vikna displays the caricatures of 4 of the 5 Kaltag core AI, the atmosphere now licking at the pod as the ground looks like it's right on top of Jack. The interior of the pod begins to heat up, the suit compensating well as he looks out to see a part of the space elevator that's extremely close to the pod.

“First Sergeant, correct course!” Vikna yells.

Jack attempts to do so, but the stick is dead, the screens going blank afterward. The coms go dead as well as Jack's shields fail, the man knowing all too well what just happened.

“Junior, was that an EMP?” He asks, the shield emitters trying their hardest to form a cohesive shield again.

“Affirmative. External coms are down and the plasma from atmospheric entry is interfering with internal coms.” She replies, Jack feeling the pod skim against the side of the space elevator's cable housing. “We are approximately ten miles away from top of the lower observatory.”

Jack looks up, seeing the manual controls for the drogue chute and braking thrusters as he looks back down, seeing the dome in the distance coming at him incredibly fast. He grabs the lever for the braking thrusters, pulling it down hard as he feels the pod slow down just as hard. An internal speed readout reads him going at nearly three thousand miles an hour, dropping somewhat quickly as he sees the observatory dome get bigger and bigger.

“Junior, how tough are these pods?” Jack asks, some of the systems rebooting as his shields finally begin charging.

“Tough enough to withstand a floor or fifty of punishment before caving in.” She replies, already knowing his plan as he grabs for the drogue chute release.

He pulls it, the pod slowing down dramatically as it takes all his might to keep from falling to the floor. Surprisingly, the cable doesn't snap, holding fast as his speed lowers at a blistering rate, the dome coming up on him very quickly now. He deploys the hard light chutes once he's slowed down to about a thousand miles an hour, the braking motors still firing as he watches the speed tick down to subsonic speeds.

“Don't know if anyone can hear me, but I'm about to impact the top of the Tower base. I'll be making my way down to the bottom as quickly as I can.” He says over open coms, grabbing the landing thruster lever as he skids against the side of the cable housing again. “If I don't make it, well...”

He can't find the strength to finish the sentence, pulling the lever on the landing thrusters just as the braking thrusters run out of fuel. His armor locks when he gets his hands onto the handholds, the landing thrusters being much MUCH more violent, the pod buckling as Jack sees the dome coming up extremely quickly. Before he can prepare himself mentally, the pod smashes through the dome, tumbling down through multiple floors as Jack is thrown from his braced position. Jack feels the suit lock up completely, crushing his muscles down as he becomes an immovable object bouncing around the confines of the pod. His straps had all but torn away, the pod slowing down considerably as he lithobrakes against the multiple decks of the Tower before finally coming to a halt, passing out shortly after.

5 hours later

Jack comes to inside a dark pod, sparks coming off the top of it as he groans, coughing as he wakes up. The helmet was glitching out, Jack getting off the floor as he leans up against the side of the pod.

“Junior.” He says, already out of breath. “You there?”

“-m here.” She says between glitches. “Hel-ompromised.”

The man puts his hand up to the side of the helmet, nanites flowing across his visor as they begin fixing the helmet enough for it to begin working properly.

“Better?” Jack asks. “I need a diagnostic.”

“Musculature is nominal. Gel layer is at fifty eight percent. Suit circuitry is nominal. Thrusters are online. Shields are offline. Power supply is nominal. Helmet is functional. AI chip integrity compromised.” Junior replies.

“Stay in my suit for a second.” He says, grabbing the chip from the back of his helmet as Junior stays put in the suit.

He looks the old chip over, the piece of metal having been damaged as he opens a case on his forearm. He places the broken chip on the empty holder, grabbing a new one and slotting it in the back of his helmet.

“New chip accepted. AI data transferred.” She says. “Powering up suit systems.”

As Jack looks around his pod, he sees the motion tracker come online, outlining people walking past the pod like it was just another day. His other displays come online as well, the shield display flashing red a few times before going offline again.

“Try and fix the shields. Until then, devote as much power as you can to the artificial muscles.” He tells her.

He grabs a hold of the rifle in the holder and pulls it off the mount, putting it on his back as he does the same with the grenade launcher. When he's sure he's got everything he needs, he gets on the radio, which is still functional.

“This Gopher one, I'm down inside the Tower.” Jack says. “Stuck inside my pod and it's surrounded. Anyone copy?”

“Gopher one, we copy!” Vikna yells back. “We're half way up the Tower by now! Just hang tight!”

She sounds panicked, fire coming in over the radio before the transmission is cut off, Jack putting his weapons back on the floor of the pod.

“Fuck...” He says, looking at his motion tracker as a few people walk past his pod. “Guess we're staying put. In the mean time, try getting the shields online.”

“Already on it.” She says. “Seems the EMP might have fried the circuitry. Nothing a little nanite infusion can't fix.”

Jack nods, sitting back down in the pod, taking his helmet off as he pulls a small kit off the wall. He opens it up, picking up a few high calorie protein bars. He opens one up, before stuffing it in his mouth, the lights beginning to flash on his helmet as he picks it up again. When he puts it on, he sees exactly why the helmet was flashing, rather, he hears why.

“Initiate, I don't have time to deal with pods that land in the Tower with dead occupants inside. I have a force already having made it half way up the tower.” An older, gruffer man says.

“I-I know sir, but what if there's someone in here, waiting to spring a trap?!” A much younger boy asks. “I just need someone to cut it open and you have the magic to do it! Please, sir, just give a few minutes of your time to check.”

“Time to play dead.” Jack whispers to himself, going limp in the seat.

As he says that, he hears a groan, a flash of plasma coming from the the pod as they begin cutting through it. As they do that, Jack sits still, sparks hitting his suit as the line of plasma runs down the center of the pod. When it reaches the bottom, the pod unlocks, the doors being pulled open as a feline and an older looking canine are revealed to him. When they both look inside, the feline pulls a gun, pointing it at Jack as the older canine pushes it back down.

“I think he's dead, Initiate.” The canine says. “He fell through fifty floors. I don't know anyone that could survive that.”

“No life signs either.” The feline says before hushing his tone. “Maybe he was here to stop Bhainen?”

“Would've been nice.” The old dog replies. “Get some heavy lift anthroids in here. We'll haul him off for medical.”

With that, Jack flickers his lights a few times, both of the officers stopping in their tracks. The feline is the first to turn around, the shield bar coming back online as he feels static begin to flow over his body. The shields begin charging up as a small text box comes up indicating that the voice modulator was functional again. He slowly moves his arms up to the sides of the pod, pulling himself out of it slowly as he feels his legs turn to jelly. He falls to his knees, forcing himself back up as a few anthroids turn the corner, pointing their weapons at the feline and canine. Jack raises his SMG with one hand, pointing it at the anthroids, his HUD coming back online as he gets off the ground. He opens fire on the anthroids, the surprisingly powerful SMG tearing through the anthroids as they all return fire. The rounds dissolve and bounce off his shields, the meter depleting steadily as he drops the first couple of anthroids. The last one manages to break his shields, Jack replying in kind by spraying down the core on the anthroid.

The anthroid grabs at its core, blue fire spewing from the holes before the core detonates in a spectacularly violent fashion. Jack flicks the now empty magazine from the SMG, slapping a new one onto the side before pulling the top mounted charging handle back. He turns back to the feline and canine, both of them looking up at him in fear.

“You were saying?” He asks.

“Y-you heard?” The feline asks.

“And saw.” Jack replies. “What were those? Commissars?”

“Sort of, yeah.” The feline replies.

“Name and rank, please.” Jack says.

“Initiate Svala Adrien.” The feline tells him.

“Kavkor Sentin Fedorolo.” The canine adds.

“Get as many men together as you can. We only have two choices and that's up or down.” The armor clad man says, walking back to the pod.

“What will you be doing?” Sentin asks.

“Making noise.” He replies with a smile, pulling grenade launcher out along with the rifle and a satchel.

2 hours later

Jack drops one more anthroid, the thing falling down on the floor as its lighting powers down. A few more enlisted Katrician Navy personnel drop more organics before the final men drop their weapons in surrender, raising their hands in defeat. Jack makes his way forward, scanning his motion sensor for anymore hostile forces. He also checks the floor number and tactical data, showing Vikna and all the troops were only a few floors below him. They were most likely fatigued from fighting for over 7 hours, so he had to relieve them.

“Where are the SS?” One of the men asks.

“SS?” Jack asks.

“There's usually one posted every few floors.” The gazelle replies.

“Maybe we killed him in all the chaos.” A leopard says with a chuckle.

“Not likely.” Jack says, putting away his nearly empty SMG and taking out the anti-material rifle. “Keep your guard up. He's definitely hiding somewhere.”

“How do you know?” One of the men asks.

“It's what I'd do.” He replies, seeing on his motion tracker exactly what he thought he'd see as soon as he mentioned them hiding. “Like fucking pottery.”

Jack takes aim at the direction the motion tracker was specifying, lining up the rifle and taking a shot through a door as he hears a roar on the other side. The man racks the bolt back and takes another shot, the door opening and the giant tiger falling to the floor with a small trail of blood behind him. Jack takes aim at his head and racks the bolt, firing one last shot that pops his head open like a watermelon, spraying grey matter in all directions.

“How?” A coyote asks.

“I've found that SS are quick to anger and brutish. Half the time they don't even carry weapons because their hands are so massive, so I just insult them and they come running every time.” Jack says. “Seriously, you need to work on your candidates.”

“All the elite SS are at Radoslav's station.” The leopard says. “Only the second rates are kept here and the leftovers are sent around the galaxy.”

“So it'll be a tougher fight at the station...” Jack says under his breath.

“First Sergeant, come in!” Vikna yells over radio. “We're almost to floor 326, the men have been pushed back and they're coming to you!”

“Kirov, they've already been killed. We're on floor 326.” He replies. “You're clear to advance up the stairway.”

“I told you to stay put!” She shouts angrily. “How did you face off against a thousand men alone?!”

“I'm not alone.” Jack replies. “Rebel cells all along the Tower. They were waiting for a catalyst and I was that.”

“Oh...” She says. “Well, we'll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Got it, out.” Jack says, turning the radio off and turning to his men. “The Tower base is ours!”

The entire group cheers, some throwing hats and others raising weapons as another message comes over his radio.

“First Sergeant, we've taken control of the orbital platform. Surprisingly little resistance. Every single room has been checked and the AI have been returned to working order.” An officer aboard the Garland's Hammer tells him. “Should be getting an alert from the small one any moment.”

“Attention all crew, this is SRK speak. The real SRK. This unit is proud to announce that we have retaken the Tower from Bhainen's forces. All batteries are being redirected toward orbital ships and strong points for Bhainen's ground army.” Warning says with a joyful undertone. “That is all!”

With that, Jack looks over to one of the larger elevators, seeing it open as a large blob appears on his motion tracker. It's a mostly red blob with a few yellow dots inside, including the one green dot that he specially assigned to Vikna. When the first men step out, he can feel everyone behind him cease celebrating immediately. There were at least 10 super soldiers that come out first, Jack putting the rifle away as Vikna is the next to come out, followed by a few SPETMAU Marines. When Jack turns back to everyone, they're frozen in fear, looking like they've just seen death.

“Don't be scared by my friends. They don't bite...much.” Jack tells them. “I think we've all earned a little rest, right?”

The men in front of him nod stiffly, taking a few steps back before Jack rolls his eyes. When he turns back to Vikna, he sees her take off her helmet, all the hair inside unraveling and falling behind her. He smiles at that and she seems to know he is, smiling back as she waves him along.

“Who ordered that assault on the top of the Tower?” Jack asks.

“I did.” She replies. “I was NOT about to go all the way up there after fighting for seven hours.”

“We could've rested.” He tells her.

“And have BST fuck us over? I don't think so.” Vikna says, both of them entering the larger maintenance elevator. “Rei's in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He was nearly dead when we found him.”

“Did you find who was responsible?” Jack asks.

“We did, but he spontaneously froze from the inside out. There was nothing anybody could do about it.” She says with a smirk. “Truly unfortunate that he won't be able to leech off the prison system.”

“What about Bhainen?” Jack asks.

“Fled as soon as the first shots flew.” She replies.

“What about BST? Is it the Apex model or no?” He asks.

“It's the Apex model.” Vikna replies with a shiver. “She had her sex changed with this new form, though.”

“So she used to be a he?” Jack asks.

“No, she used to be an it.” Vikna replies, hitting the button that will take them to the top deck. “What happened anyway? I lost coms with you even after our pods regained power.”

“I slammed into the top of the lower deck and lithobraked through fifty floors before coming to a stop.” He says, Vikna snickering at that. “Hey, don't laugh! I nearly died!”

“Your phrasing is funny!” She says with a giggle, the elevator moving up. “Come on, you know I was worried sick.”

“Well, after I fell fifty floors, I passed out for a while before coming to and contacting you. People were just walking around my pod like it was a normal day.” He tells her.

“Katrician working spirit. We don't stop moving until the clock tells us.” She says with a prideful smile. “Mind if I sit down?”

“I think I'll sit down too.” He says, letting himself down gently as the elevator breaches the ground station, entering the upper atmosphere as Vikna scoots herself over to him.

She lays her head down on his lap, purring gently as she closes her eyes, Jack not daring to touch her in this suit. Despite how often he uses it, he still isn't proficient enough in its use to not hurt her. He sighs, laying his head back against the back of the elevator, feeling himself begin to drift off.

30 minutes later

Jack is awoken by Junior sounding his depleted shield buzzer, making him bolt upright instantly, bringing his gun to bare before seeing he was just inside an elevator.

“That suit really makes you jumpy, doesn't it?” Vikna asks, Jack turning toward her as she looks down at the gun he had in his hands. “Were you planning on blowing us both up?”

He looks down and sees the grenade launcher was the weapon he picked, having been in his more easily accessible magnetic holster. He puts it away, Vikna waving him along as the two of them walk down a busy hallway. There were corpses and destroyed anthroids littering the ground, being cleaned up by workers and Serkonian sailors alike. Jack continues his way down the hallway, following Vikna through twists and turns before arriving at a room he'd been to many times in the past. The doors open to a scene Jack was familiar with outside of the draconian thing sitting in one of the seats. Her head looked like a triangle as ports on her skull open up, revealing a pair of ruby red eyes. The covers flatten like eyebrows before raising in surprise, the AI immediately unhooking her tail from the console and rushing at Jack. Before he can react, she PICKS HIM UP and pulls him into a hug.

“Mister Jackson, it's been so long!” She says with a voice that's much too girly for someone with this much strength. “How have you been?!”

“Good.” Jack says, the massive dragoness dropping him down as he realizes just how big she is. “You're huge!”

“I'm exactly eight feet tall!” She replies excitedly, bringing her hands up with elation. “My size was changed recently as well as my boobs! Do you think it makes me more attractive than my unisex counterpart?”

“I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting your unisex counterpart.” Jack replies, looking over at Vikna as the feline looks completely and utterly terrified. “You look...great.”

“Oh, I'm so glad you think so!” She says, pulling him into another hug that he definitely doesn't want, his helmet being engulfed in her massive tits. “Hugs are fun. We should do them more often.”

“BST, please, you'll break the man!” Zeta says, coming to his rescue as Junior is already doing diagnostics. “Kirov, please do try to at least act like she doesn't scare you.”

With that, BST wraps her huge tail around herself, looking a bit dejected.

“I can't help how I look, Kirov.” The AI says apologetically. “I thought the boobs might help when I was given the option, but now I'm stuck like this until my new form is ready.”

“I-it's not you. Dragons just give me the creeps after what happened eight years ago.” She says.

“Oh, well in that case, how have my combat protocols been doing in that suit of yours?” She asks, her tail straightening out and beginning to wag like a dog.

“It was traumatizing.” Jack replies. “Efficient, but traumatizing.”

“Oh...I'm sorry.” She says, looking dejected again. “I told ARA this would happen if she didn't upload my entire AI. I have specific counseling subroutines that help people through mass casualties and mass killing.”

“It turned out okay in the end. I had a huge fight with my inner demons and I'm all fixed now. Well, until I kill too many more people. Then I'm sure I'll go back to square one.” He tells her.

“Which is why I'm suspending you from front line combat for the remainder of this operation.” Vikna says. “You're also being field enlisted and promoted to Kavkor. Your pay and uniform will be provided at a later date.”

“But-”

“No buts!” Vikna yells. “Unless it's yours.”

“Oh, I know what I can do!” BST says with a smile. “May I please borrow your AI chip?”

Jack doesn't want to argue, removing the chip from his helmet as BST takes it gingerly.

“Thank you!” She says, skipping her way back to the console as she shakes the floor doing so. “A one, a two, and, done!”

She skips her way back to the group, Vikna actually running to the other side of the room to get away. Jack soon finds out why, BST losing her balance and falling toward Jack. Her covers close the ports on her head, Jack hurriedly pushing her massive form as he skids along the floor from her momentum. Eventually, he arrests her movement and realizes he's grabbed onto her tits. His entire face heats up as he begins sweating profusely, letting go immediately, as he looks down at the floor.

“I-I'm sorry, I just had to grab you and-”

“It's fine, really.” She tells him with a girly giggle. “I might have to find someone who will do more of that. Anyway, here's your AI chip.”

“T-thanks...” He says, holding his hand out as he feels her put the chip in his hand.

He sticks the chip back inside his helmet, a very annoyed looking Junior looking over at BST who looks...happy?

“Ah, this is so much better than having protocols. Now I can counsel you if you're traumatized, since SOMEBODY didn't listen to any of the protocols.” The BST seed says giddily.

“I thought they were optional.” Junior says, crossing her arms.

“Hey, I hate to cut this short, but I'm about ready to pass out.” Jack says. “I hope you like waiting for a while because I may never use this suit again. Unless, of course, I need to use it for work around the farm.”

“The reactor has about twelve years left before it needs to be replaced.” Junior says before Jack moves past BST, making his way up to Zeta.

“I need to ask a favor of you.” Jack says.

“Considering we were just liberated, I'm feeling a bit generous. Ask away.” She says with a smile.

“I need you to open a transmission.” He says, opening his satchel and pulling out a tattered old flag and a folding pole.

“Where do you want me to transmit to?” She asks.

“The quarter of the galaxy under Empire control.” Jack replies, handing her the flag. “Pin this up in front of the camera and let it transmit for a few hours. If nothing else, get this to transmit on the Emperor's station. Every single screen and every single device. If you can hack it, do it.”

“That's it?” She asks, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you were going to ask me to block communications coming to and from his command post, but I can definitely do that. As you might say, it will be a walk in the park.”

She struts her way back to the console as the man turns around, the flag being stood up by Zeta as she connects herself to the station.

10 hours later

Jack is laying down in bed, Vikna having her arms around him with her chest pressed into his back, having been awake for 2 hours now. She was fast asleep, breathing gently into the back of his neck as he stays awake, thinking about his son and what is going on back home. The little guy was supposed to start public school today, if his conversions were correct. Jack wanted nothing more than to call and ask how his day is going, but he didn't know if Fluff was going to say yes. It was tearing him up inside, to think that he couldn't be there to witness his son's first day of school. 

He begins gently pulling Vikna's arms off his torso, setting them behind him as he pulls himself off the bed. By some miracle, 300 pounds leaving the bed isn't enough to wake her, the feline continuing to sleep as he pulls the blanket over her. With that, Jack walks out of the room. The man makes his way down the hallway, walking down it as he passes by the newly rebuilt reception area. The lady gives him a smile, opening the door to Fluff's room as Jack walks inside. When he enters, Fluff is busy working, drawing and fiddling with his device at the same time. He clears his throat, the white haired man turning around with a pen in one hand and a wrist mounted device in the other.

“What's up?” He asks.

“I...I need to ask you something.” Jack says, leaning against the doorway. “Can you open up a communications portal to my world? My son started school today and I wanted to see how it went.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” He says, typing in a few digits on his wrist mounted computer as a small portal opened into his backyard. “There, you should have a signal.”

Jack nods, looking out at his ranch with somber appreciation before opening his phone. He calls Tim, hearing the phone pick up after a few rings.

“Hey, you finally back?” Tim asks.

“No, I'm still away. We captured the Tower and are probably going to move on the station in a few days. How was his first day of school?” Jack asks.

“Not great. Kids are making fun of him for being an anthro.” Tim replies with a sigh. “I tried telling him that he was special and that the kids were just jealous, but he knows it's because he's different.”

“Is he still awake?” Jack asks.

“He's been crying in his room for nearly an hour now.” He replies. “Want to talk with him?”

“Yeah, hand the phone over.” Jack replies, hearing a few light sobs before a few sniffles are heard through the phone.

“Hello?” Franklin asks.

“Hey buddy, it's your dad.” Jack says with a smile on his face. “How was your first day of school?”

“I-I don't want to g-go back.” He says. “T-they made fun of my fur.”

“Well, they're just a bunch of brats.” Jack says. “Did you tell them that you were the first American feline to go to space?”

“T-they didn't believe me...” Franklin replies with a sniffle, Jack's heart dropping to his feet as he hears his son begin to cry again.

“Hey, how about this.” Jack says, making his way back toward the door, the split doors opening as he continues down the hallway. “How about I take you to school tomorrow? I think I can spare a day for you.”

“I-I'd like that.” He says with a sniffle.

“Alright, hand the phone back to Tim for a second.” Jack says, entering Vikna's room as she's sitting up on the bed.

“So, what's the consensus?” Tim asks.

“I'm going back for a day.” Jack replies. “I'm going to have a chat with the principal about this.”

“Chat with what principal?” Vikna asks.

“Frankie's having issues at school.” He replies. “I'll be gone for half a day.”

“What if I say no?” Vikna asks.

“It's a good thing I didn't ask.” Jack tells her.

“Damn!” Tim yells into the phone. “Telling her how it is!”

“Alright, you have fourteen hours.” She tells Jack. “I think I can manage for half a day.”

Jack nods, grabbing a small bag with all his dress clothes inside.

“Tim, you okay with keeping him over night? I'll pick him up and take him to school tomorrow. He goes to that Anaconda school, right?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, he does.” Tim replies, Jack walking back into Fluff's room where a full on portal is now standing. “We'll keep him overnight. Be here by seven thirty. His school day starts at eight twenty.”

“Got it.” Jack says. “Thanks for all this, Tim. If it's any consolation, the war is coming to a close already. The three main systems are back in our possession.”

“Alright, I'll see you later.” He says, hanging up the phone as Jack stands in front of the portal.

“Hey, I need to-”

“I heard.” Fluff tells him. “Go on, I'm not going to be the one to tell you that you can't help your son. Especially since you actually took the time to call on his first day of school.”

“Thanks man. I'll be back in about 14 hours your time. Call me when it's time.” Jack says, stepping through the portal.

16 hours later

Jack stops the Mustang at Tim's house, Franklin already waiting by the porch as he runs down the gravel path. His tail is flicking back and forth excitedly as he holds onto his backpack, Jack opening the door for his son as the kitten leaps inside. He throws himself against his father, the man pulling his son into an awkward hug as Franklin purrs gently. When Jack lets go, Franklin sits down in the seat beside him, buckling his seat belt as the man shifts into first gear.

“Daddy, why are you wearing the funny hat and green coat?” Franklin asks.

“Because I'm going to talk with your principal.” Jack replies. “Bullying isn't okay. Making fun of you because you're different is mean and I won't stand for it.”

“Are you gonna get mad at the principal?” Franklin asks as Jack turns out of the driveway.

“Oh, you bet I'm gonna get mad.” Jack says, his blood still boiling from yesterday.

“Daddy, are you able to stay?” Franklin asks, looking up at Jack with curious eyes.

“No, I'm fighting someone right now and we're almost done. Once the bad man is gone, I'll come back and won't ever go away again.” Jack tells him. “Did you tell on the mean kids?”

“Yes, but the teacher didn't do anything.” Franklin says.

“Oh my god, someone's gonna die.” Jack says, stomping his foot to the floor as he grits his teeth.

30 minutes later

Jack stops in the parking lot with about 10 minutes to spare, parking in an empty spot in the middle as the first school bus is pulling in, the human and his feline son leaving the vehicle. The two of them walk across the parking lot and up to the front door, teachers already letting children into the school as they approach. When Jack stops in front of the door, he holds his son from filing inside, turning to the teacher as the woman looks up at him with surprise.

“Oh, are you Franklin's father?” The teacher asks.

“I am.” Jack replies. “Where's the principal's office? I need to speak with him.”

“He's just down the hall and to the left. You should see a sign that says administration above it.” She says before Jack tries to turn away, the lady grabbing his dress clothes. “Honestly, you'll need to be careful around him. He's got a short temper.”

“He ain't got mine.” Jack says, filing himself in line with all the children as he makes his way inside.

“Daddy, am I able to go to class?” Franklin asks, Jack having not let him go.

“Not yet.” Jack says, turning into the office. “I need to speak with the principal.”

The secretary, who was drinking her coffee, looks up and sees Jack holding Franklin's hand, pointing to the chair by the door before he walks up to the desk.

“Oh, I don't have a meeting scheduled for today-”

“I need to speak with him now.” Jack tells her again, looking at his watch and seeing he has 3 hours left. “I need to be back in the Rishan galaxy in three hours.”

“The Rishan?” She asks. “I'll see what I can do.”

She gets up from her desk, straightening some papers before making her way over to the principal's office. Jack walks over to his son, kneeling down in front of Franklin as the kitten smiles at his father.

“How many kids were bullying you?” Jack asks.

“Five.” Franklin says. “They said I had an ugly face and pulled my tail.”

“They're just jealous of your handsome muzzle and fuzzy tail.” Jack says with a smile, ruffling his son's hair as Franklin giggles back at him. “So, you told?”

“I did, but the teacher got really scared and said I needed to stay quiet.” He replies. “Should I have listened?”

“You should listen to your teacher, but they're not infallible.” Jack replies, seeing the confusion in his son's face. “Rather, they're not without fault. They can make mistakes too.”

“Okay.” He says, smiling gently as Jack gets off the ground.

“When daddy is finished, you can go to class.” Jack says. “Be good, alright?”

“Okay, daddy.” He says with a smile.

“Mister Haigs, he'll see you now.” The secretary says, Jack straightening his tie and turning around.

He nods, walking toward the principal's office as he remembers his own troubled days of going to the principal's office. When he enters, the man's face looked like it was coming off a blush, the principal looking up at Jack. The Marine takes the liberty of closing the door behind him, walking up to the desk the man was sitting behind as he sighs.

“So, you're the cat's father?” He asks.

“I am.” Jack replies. “I'm Jackson Haigs.”

“You're supposed to take off the cap inside.” The principal tells Jack.

“Oh, believe me, that's going to be the least of your worries if you don't do something about my son's bullies.” Jack replies, setting his hands down on the desk. “I just got called away from an active war zone because your employees are too afraid to come to you with bullying reports. I want you to tell me exactly why in the next 10 seconds or this desk is going out the window.”

“You trying to tell me how to run my school, son?” He asks.

“You call me son again and I'll throw you out the window with your desk as well.” Jack replies. “Five seconds.”

“I have to admit, I have a bit of a temper.” The man says. “Why'd you come dressed in your service uniform?”

“It's the only set of fancy clothing I have.” Jack replies.

“On whose authority?” He asks.

“On my authority.” Jack replies, pointing to his chevrons. “I want you to set all five of the children who bullied my son straight, because if I have to come back here, I will have someone's rear.”

“You know I was in Delta Force?” The man asks. “In OIF, I was in the sandbox for four years before being sent to Afghanistan for seven more.”

“I was in Afghanistan, Iran, Katric, Siania, and Serko. I'm in MARSOC, was trained by the SAS, and I lead a task force known as SPETMAU. That special forces card doesn't work on me.” Jack tells him.

“You think you can come into my office and make demands?” The principal asks, rising from his desk.

“I can and I am.” Jack replies.

“Get out.” He says.

“I'm not finished.” Jack tells him.

“Get out!” He yells.

“Sir, I just need to-”

“I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT!” The principal screams, slamming his fist down on the table as a few items shake around.

Jack slams his fist down on top of the desk in response, putting a massive dent in the metal as everything on top jumps off it. When everything lands again, he has the principal's full attention, the man sitting back down.

“You will bring those boys in here right now.” Jack says. “Or I will deal with it myself.”

“There's a form-”

“FUCK YOUR FORM!” Jack screams, now his turn to get angry. “I shouldn't have to fill out a fucking form to report an incident where my son was assaulted and berated by YOUR STUDENTS! Not to mention that your staff actively advised my son against reporting this incident! Coming into a school system is not like coming into an administration job for the Army, you have to be kind and compassionate because these are CHILDREN! You need to show TACT AND KINDNESS, something you clearly shed in pursuit of being a special snowflake operator!”

“I-”

“CAN IT!” Jack shouts, his face now completely red with anger. “You have some fucking BALLS calling me son when you use your employees as verbal punching bags because you can't work through your fucking issues! You petulant little man child! I was willing to be civil, be somewhat polite, give you a chance, but YOU FUCKING BLEW IT!”

The man attempts to get up, but Jack pushes the desk back to keep him sat down.

“SIT THE FUCK DOWN!” The man screams angrily. “I want you to pick up that phone and call your secretary right now. Tell her to bring all five of those boys down right now. You want to get angry at someone, you get angry at those little shits for pulling my son's tail and calling him ugly. Understand?”

“Y-yes...” He says, grabbing the phone with a shivering hand. “Deb, get the boys who picked on the First Sergeant's son down here. Yes, right now.”

Jack nods, turning around as he opens the door, everyone in the office looking at him like he was crazy.

“Hey, don't mess with my son.” Jack says with a shrug, walking back to his son who has a big grin on his face. “Alright buddy, you ready for your second day of school?”

“Yes, daddy!” He says, hopping up excitedly as he runs over to his father.

“Come on, big guy. Let's get you to class.” Jack says, making his way out of the office. “Lead the way.”

Jack follows his son through winding halls, a few children looking up at the man as a select few point at the man and wave. As the Marine follows his son through the halls of the school, he stops in front of a locker, putting his ninja turtles backpack inside before continuing down the hallway. Shortly after the stop at the locker, Franklin stops in front of a door, turning inside as five boys are seen leaving the room with worried looks on their faces. Jack can't help but smile at their looks, feeling justice finally being served after all these years of incessant bullying. A small victory that he was going to relish until the day he died. When he enters the room, the teacher is a petite woman with red hair, clasping her hands together as Franklin enters the room.

“Franklin, you're here!” She says excitedly, looking up at Jack with a surprised look. “And...you brought company!”

“Hello, ma'am. I'm popping my head in to say hello.” Jack says. “I hope that little disturbance didn't cause you any issues.”

“It won't?” She asks, cleverly hiding her worry behind a question.

“I'm sure it won't.” Jack says, giving her a quick wink as she chuckles with delight.

“Well, thank you for dropping your son off.” She says with visible relief. “Say goodbye, Franklin.”

“Daddy, do you have to fight?” Franklin asks, an icy chill running down the Marine's spine as his face drains of color. “Can't all the other kitties beat the bad men?”

“Son...” Jack says, leaning on the doorway for support. “They need my help because they're really strong this time. I'm sorry son, but I'll be back soon.”

“When?” Franklin asks.

“I'll be back in time for your birthday.” Jack replies somberly. “Possibly sooner, but this could take a long time.”

With that, Jack hears his phone begin to ring, answering it as Franklin runs back out to him.

“Hey, the portal system's malfunctioning.” Fluff says, Jack holding his son with one hand as he holds the phone with the other. “We just got word from Radoslav's station that the crew there mutinied. Bhainen was captured literally hours after you left. I'll leave it up to you if you want to come back and coordinate a cleanup effort.”

“You're kidding.” Jack says in disbelief. “He's already gone?”

“SS all ganged up on him and threw him in a cage. Like, a literal animal cage.” He replies. “They're still cleaning up all the traitors and ships, so we still need you, but I can understand if you don't want to-”

“I'll be there.” Jack says, hanging up the phone and letting go of Franklin. “Hey, I know this is a bit sudden, but do you mind if I take my son back home?”

“I'm guessing he has a doctor's appointment?” She asks.

“Very big doctor's appointment.” Jack replies. “Might be a month before he can come back, he's very sick.”

“Really?” Franklin asks.

Jack only smiles at him, waving him down the hallway.

“Go get your backpack.” He says, walking into the classroom. “I'll take his textbooks. He'll still do his work.”

She nods, grabbing a few text books on basic history, math, and science, handing them to the man as he holds them under his arm.

“Well, I need to start my class.” She says, everyone in the room whining when she remembers they exist. “Oh, I know. I went to school too.”

He nods, making his way out of the classroom as he looks down the hall, seeing Franklin opening his locker before taking his bag out of his locker. Jack hurries to his side, Franklin putting the bag on his back before Jack opens it, putting the small textbooks in his bag. When he zips it up, Franklin meows excitedly, purring the entire time they walk down the hall.

7 days later

Jack is sitting in the bedroom atop the Tower, reading a book on naval tactics in the Katrician Navy, written by none other than Vikna's father while she was a teenager. It outlines the importance of the 6 directions of freedom and the need to control space in a sphere rather than an oval like ocean going navies. He was surprised they still had those, let alone used them to secure coasts and Katrician shipping lanes. As he finishes the last page, he opens the worksheet Vikna had given him, beginning to type out a response as she looks up from her own book intently. After he finished typing it out, a small war game pops up on the tablet, the small fleet she had devised being put into a crowded asteroid field with 3 ships visible. The human immediately orders the EW ship to ping the surrounding area with a high frequency, polarized ping. She smiles with delight as he finally recognizes the use of the EW ship, the ping revealing 7 more ships behind asteroids, waiting to ambush the fleet.

“It's like watching two years of naval theory go by in a week's time.” She says with a smile.

He nods, feeling a bit of pride, contacting the fleet while deploying bombers from the carrier, sending them after the enemy EW ship as his own ship jammed their targeting systems.

“You know, if it weren't for the Sufarans, I'm sure Bhainen would've gone after galactic conquest.” She says idly. “Katricians are considered the best at naval combat in this quarter of the galaxy, but the Sufarans are the best in the galaxy.”

“I'm guessing they're fish.” Jack says.

“How'd you know?” She asks. “Is that your prejudice talking?”

“Yes.” He replies absentmindedly, the battle cruiser beginning its flanking maneuver.

He pings the area again and reveals a few more freighters maneuvering out of the fight, their panicked chatter clogging the radio waves before Jack jams the civilian coms.

“Ah, ah. That's illegal.” She tells him. “Close the civilian communications channel if it bothers you.”

However, he doesn't listen, instead issuing commands to the freighters and giving them directions to flee. He plans out a route through the asteroids that can be easily navigated as the AI move his own ships into cover behind some asteroids. Vikna realizes what he was doing and leaves him be, the man unblocking communications after he had relayed his instructions. The civilian vessels were quiet after that, Jack sending out a final ping that revealed a couple more freighters fleeing the scene. As he gets the Dorito shaped ship behind an asteroid as cover, he provides a small fighter escort to each of the ships, which immediately detect other fighters and begin to engage with them. 

After the engagement runs on for a while, the battle cruiser is worse for wear, the carrier doing its best to support it with repair drones and supplies. However, the captain decided the best decision was for the fleet's sword to retreat, leaving everyone else exposed. Jack immediately opened up the emergency orders menu, relieving the man of command and instructing the XO to take over. Vikna sighs with relief, as just below that button was the execute officer button, something many novice cadets do that gets them reprimanded. Jack continues to win through attrition, his superior positioning and early detection of the ships counteracting most of what was being thrown at him, a far cry from his first engagement. As he continues to attrition the enemy fleet to death, he finally destroys the electronic warfare ship, having disabled most of its advanced systems beforehand as well. He sighs with relief, a major player of the enemy fleet having been disabled. What he didn't realize was just how much the EW vessel was helping, shots that used to hit his ships going wide by literal miles while his own is tucked safely behind an asteroid.

The fight is almost done when Jack notices a couple freighters show up on one of his pings, both of them moving toward different vessels with their distress beacons on. Jack immediately begins to feel uneasy, pulling his ships away from the freighters as they change course to continue following his vessels. He shakes his head, immediately ordering the ships to target the freighters and issue a warning. Vikna raises her eyebrows at this, looking a bit perplexed. After they respond and say they've lost their way, they continue to advance, despite his warning. He orders his ships to open fire on the seemingly friendly and civilian freighters, Vikna inhaling sharply before the freighters explode in a brilliant ball of fire. Jack remembered back to the first time he'd seen a ship explode, the fireball being much more tame than this was. Those were definitely suicide vessels.

“How'd you know?” Vikna asks.

“It's what car bombers do. Say they're lost and attempt to keep going.” Jack replies, the few remaining enemy ships falling back before eventually warping away. “Will I be notified when the scenario is finished?”

“Yeah.” She replies, the screen doing just that as he sets the tablet down. “I personally would've given them more warning. You still had about thirty seconds before they were within range to do any sort of damage.”

“So, how'd I do?” He asks.

“There's a few minor flaws in your plan, but they wouldn't have crippled the fleet in any real way. It just would've been something you had to plan around.” She replies before giving him a smile. “It's so cute seeing you improve. Keep this up and one day we might even make an officer out of you.”

“I kind of just want to retire after all this. At least let myself rest for a while before going into another job.” He says. “I've got a question though.”

“What's that?” She asks.

“Do you want another kid after all this is done?” He asks. “I want another son.”

Vikna bites her bottom lip as she looks down at the ground, squirming in her seat as she sets the book aside.

“Y-you know, maybe when Franklin's older. I don't know if I'm ready to take care of another boy yet.” She replies.

“Fair enough.” Jack replies, getting himself up and out of the floating seat. “How about some fun later?”

“Being a bit forward, aren't you~?” She asks, her eyes fluttering as he closes in on her. “Nice and slow?”

“Nice and slow.” He replies, rubbing his hand over her cheek as she begins purring gently. “I'll make sure to pace myself this time.”

“Stop it...” She says, rubbing her face into his hand.

“Then, afterwards, we'll go at it like feral animals.” He says scratching under her cheek as she continues to bite her lip. “I'll give it to you as rough as you can take it.”

“Please...” She says, grabbing his other hand and putting it on her cheek. “More...”

“Then, I'll put you on your stomach and fuck you face down.” He tells her, Vikna now sounding more like a motor boat than a cat. “What was that about going into heat? If you're fucked hard enough and close enough to your cycle, you'll just go into heat?”

“Fuck yeah.” She replies, Jack no longer moving his hands as rubs her face against them.

“I'll give you the best dicking I've ever given you. We'll go at it for days. Weeks even.” He tells her, Vikna beginning to whine as she rubs herself against the seat. “I'll pump you full of so much cum that it won't matter if we're different species.”

“F-fuck...” She says, continuing to slide back and forth on the seat as her uniform begins to soak through.

“You'll be like a puddle of sweet, minty goodness under me while I ravage your ass, cumming over and over as we completely ruin the mattress.” He says, Vikna no longer trying to hide the fact that she's just rubbing herself off with the aid of the chair. “I'll fuck you so hard, you won't be able to walk for a week afterward.”

“M-more!” She yells out, crying into her hands as she rubs her soaked pants all over the plasteel chair.

“Then, when we finish rutting like savages, I'll blow the biggest load I've ever blown inside of you, the thick, creamy, human cum gushing out of you like a faucet.” He tells her, moving a hand from her face as he positions it underneath her hips.

He slides his fingers up into her pants, feeling her entire body clench as she squeaks with just barely contained pleasure, twitching in the seat as his fingers get soaked in her minty fluids. She bites her lower lip, laying back in the seat as she rides out the rest of her orgasm, fluid slowly leaking from her cunt like a leaky pipe. When she sighs contently, he removes his fingers from her folds, pulling them out as he sticks them in his mouth. He runs them all along his tongue, lapping up her sweet, peppermint flavored girl cum.

“F-fuck you...” She says with a content smile. “Y-you did that on purpose.”

“Mmhmm.” He replies, pulling his fingers out of his mouth. “Wrote that and practiced it in front of a mirror for three days. Guess you liked it?”

“I fucking love you.” She says, pulling him into a kiss as her tongue intertwines with his.

The two of them sit there, making out as Vikna grabs at his ass, squeezing it a few times as he replies in kind. She squeaks into his mouth as her body twitches a few more times, an aftershock hitting her just from him squeezing her butt. The two of them separate when she finishes her mini orgasm, the feline looking up at him with glossed over eyes. She was probably just as pent up as he was.

“I'll be waiting.” She tells him with a smile. “Now, let me change. You made me soil my clothes.”

With that, he lets Vikna go, the feline stripping out of her clothes as he opens his tablet back up again. As he watches her strip, she suddenly stops, looking over at him.

“You did mean all that, right?” She asks.

“Of course.” He tells her.

“My ass is going to hate me in a few days.” She says with a shudder, pulling up a new pair of panties. “I'll have to ask if I can take leave for my heat when we start, but it should only last for a day or two. You've been taking good care of me every time it happens.”

“I remember when you went into heat a few weeks after Franklin's birth.” He says with a laugh. “You were so fucking pissed.”

“Well yeah, everything still hurt!” She says, pulling her skirt up. “You were nice to me though, so it only lasted a day.”

“I wasn't too rough, was I?” He asks.

“I told you, you're fine.” She says with a giggle, pulling her robe over her. “I have a function I need to go to. People are heralding me as a hero or something.”

“Need me to come along?” He asks.

“No, you're good.” She replies. “You can go hang out with the AI if you want.”

“Is Franklin still in class?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, he's with the tutor.” She replies. “He'll be there for the next five hours.”

“Alright, I'll go check in on ARA.” He says. “Good luck, honey.”

“Thanks. I'll need it.” She tells him.

1 hour later

Jack arrives at the control room, entering the room to see a few AI handlers milling about as he enters. When he does, he makes his way to the side of ARA, who's thoroughly engrossed in her work. He sits down beside her as she continues moving screens and typing on the keyboard, shaking her head before typing even more.

“Hey ARA-”

“WAH!” She shouts, jumping out of her seat and landing on the floor. “W-when did you get there?”

“Just now.” He replies, offering her a hand. “Sorry for scaring you.”

“It's fine.” She says. “Well, not fine that you scared me. I forgive you.”

He nods, hoisting her up as she blushes profusely.

“Y-you didn't stare at me, did you?” She asks.

“No, why?” He asks.

“I forgot underwear this morning.” She whispers very quietly. “It's quite drafty in here.”

“O-oh...” Jack replies, it now being his turn to blush. “I...I didn't even notice.”

“Well, things are doing okay here.” She says, continuing to type into the keyboard. “Honestly, I don't know why you keep coming back to me. I never do anything interesting or create interesting conversation. Beyond being friends, I see no real reason to engage in conversation.”

“You're one of the only people in the Tower that I know well that doesn't make me want to claw my eyes out.” He tells her. “Besides, watching you work is fun in and of itself. It's like watching machinery work at a factory or watching a program work in real time. No offense.”

“None taken. I've grown as an AI since my old days.” She tells him with a smile. “Not nearly as offendable as I used to be. I take stupid questions surprisingly well, or so I'm told by Natoika. This is purely because people have asked me so many stupid questions. I've learned to build up a tolerance.”

“Same here.” He replies. “I think I've grown thicker skin since my son came into my life. Even before I purged that nastiness out of my head, I was a lot less prone to my anger exploding. Now it's mostly just an act.”

“I heard you blew up in Franklin's principal's face.” She replies. “Your son is very talkative.”

“Did Franklin tell you why?” He asks.

“No, he just said you got 'really mad and yelled bad curses at the principal'. He was very energetic about the whole thing until I asked him why.” ARA replies. “If you don't mind me asking, what did happen?”

“Kids at my son's school were bullying him on the first day of school. The first day!” Jack replies. “They pulled his tail and called him names. Really mean kids.”

“By all accounts I'm able to find and what's been stored in my emotional matrices, that's terrible and despicable.” She says. “Did he tell an adult?”

“He did, but the teacher was so scared of the principal that she told him to keep quiet.” He replies. “I was so furious when I heard that. I thought I was gonna pop a blood vessel I got so angry.”

“I've never heard you describe yourself as furious before. It's always mad or 'pissed off', as you like to say.” She tells him.

“I rarely ever get that angry.” Jack replies. “The principle got all mad when I asked him to reprimand the bullies, so I threatened to throw him and his desk out the window. Tried telling me he was Delta Force, like it fucking mattered. Damn, even talking about me gets my blood boiling.”

“I can tell.” She says. “Your blood pressure has been spiking this entire time.”

“I'll spare you the details. I came out of the office and those boys got what they deserved. I think Vikna told me they were sons of wealthy families who supported the school, but I don't give a fuck if they're the messiah, you don't fuck with my son.” Jack says. “They're lucky I didn't have my way. Their parents would've known fury the likes of which no man has ever seen before.”

“I'm sure of it. Considering how upset you're getting just talking about it makes me worry about what happens when people anger you.” She says.

“Stop it.” Jack says with a chuckle. “You're making me sound like some edgy asshole. I very rarely get that angry. When I do, it's usually for a very good reason.”

“Whatever you say, mister Jackson. What do you plan on doing now that this little incident is over?” ARA asks.

“That's, like, way left field. Considering it was suppressed with extreme prejudice, I might do a parade through the streets.” He replies. “Then, I'm probably not coming back until Franklin is thirteen.”

“Why's that?” She asks.

“Vikna wants to go on an expedition or something. I don't remember.” Jack replies.

With that, Jack continues to sit beside ARA, watching her work on relaying data from one point to another. It always fascinated him how fast she worked, typing faster than anything he could ever manage without his suit and being way more precise in the process. He'd asked her to type out a few reports for him back on Earth, way back when he first met her, the anthroid having it done within minutes when it took him hours to complete. Then again, she stayed up there for nearly an hour, probably snooping on his stories while he read a book. He feels a tap on his shoulder, looking over at ARA as she shows him a picture.

“Good, you're not dead.” She tells him. “I, uh, drew a small picture while I was working. Miss Vikna tells me you're good at drawing, so I wanted to know if it's of sub-par quality.”

“Oh, please. I'm nothing special.” Jack says, looking over the simple artwork. “I'm of the mindset that there are no bad artists, just inexperienced artists and artists with different styles.”

“An interesting point of view. Mister Rei shares this point of view to an extent. He tells me that if people draw us, he expects the utmost care to be put into the drawing.” She says. “I personally like looking through all the artwork of me. It's very flattering that people would put so much effort into depicting me, even if the nails are always done wrong. Even mister Rei is guilty of it.”

She shows her nails extending from sheaths in her fingers before retracting again, the feline AI smiling at him.

“I'm only joking. I know this was a later design choice by mister Rei.” She tells him.

Jack finishes looking over the drawing, seeing ARA dressed up in a suit of knight armor, a human in a Spartan costume and Vikna echoing ARA's costume...wait a second.

“ARA...” Jack says, looking at her as a smile creeps on her lips. “Why do you do this to me?”

“Because it's funny.” She says. “It would've been much worse if you'd stared.”

Jack groans, laying back in the seat as the hover motor on the bottom struggles to keep the seat upright against his immense weight and awkward angle. He leans forward again, only to feel a massive pair of tits on his shoulders as BST rests her head on his own.

“Hello!” She says excitedly. “I should be ashamed of myself. I didn't even notice you come in.”

“Yes you did, BST.” ARA says, a bit confused.

“It's a joke.” BST tells her with a giggle. “Jackson, you should come hang out with me! I'm lots of fun and we can spy on people.”

“BST, please stop trying to bait my friends into sex.” ARA says, covering her face. “Besides, most organics abide by relationships, which means they can't all go around having sex with whoever.”

“How do you know?” BST asks, putting just about all of her weight on Jack as he feels his spine compress and the seat struggle to stay upright. “Have you ever had sex before?”

“No, but I've been given plenty of verbal lectures on the subject by Princess Ayn.” ARA replies. “I'm not interested in-”

“Yeah, I get it , you're a prude.” BST says, now putting the full weight of her body on Jack as the seat bottoms out.

“Please, BST, you're going to crush the chair.” Jack says, feeling his own spine begin to buckle under her weight.

With that, she takes her weight off him, the chair floating back up as Jack is now floating roughly level with ARA.

“If you must pester someone, pester that man who keeps hitting on me. If his taste is broad enough to include me, I think he'd pass out if you asked him.” ARA says, blushing a bit as she does.

“Okay!” BST says excitedly.

Jack can feel her skip away as she shakes the room with her footsteps, ARA sliding down into her chair as she sighs.

“What happened to her personality?” Jack asks.

“It was completely corrupted and had to be replaced. The Emperor ordered her personality personally.” She replies. “I dare not imagine what he was thinking when he made those changes to her form and personality, but she's nearly insufferable like this. She's made passes at me. Me! Of all the people in this room who are so much more attractive, she chooses me, the ONE ABSTINENT AI!”

They both hear her giggle profusely from the other side of the room, Jack chancing a look back as BST towers over the now cowering feline. She completely engulfs him in her massive mammaries, the feline's arms going limp at his sides as the dragoness picks up the mumbling feline.

“Who knew anesthetic would be so effective as an aphrodisiac?!” BST says with a laugh, a noticeable bulge in the feline's pants as she carries him out of the control room.

“Tell me she didn't just drag him off to rape him?” ARA asks.

“I'm sure she peer pressured him into saying yes first.” Jack replies.

“I gave her permission.” Zeta says. “He's been pestering us all day. If he wants sex, he'll get sex. And a broken hip.”

“Oh, so it was part of mother's plan!” ARA says with a smile. “Do not fear. Mother always has a plan!”

With that, Jack gets a call on his phone, taking it out of his pocket and beginning the call.

“Hello?” He asks.

“Hey, I need you on the conference deck.” Vikna says. “Dress to impress. Wear the blues. Hey, don't touch me!”

“You got it.” He says, getting up. “Love you, honey.”

“Love you too. No, not you!” She yells before the call ends.

Jack gets up and ARA waves him off, the man leaving the control room as quickly as he'd left.

30 minutes later

When Jack arrives in the conference room, hand on his sword as he sees a large crowd of ravenous reporters trying to interview Vikna. As he walks up the ramp to the stage, a few reporters are hounding Vikna, touching her and grabbing her as she pushes them away. Jack quickens his pace as cameras begin to take pictures, the stage rattling a bit as the reporters near Vikna look over to him. They all immediately back off, the man slowing himself down as he walks at a more calm pace toward Vikna.

“As I said many times before, I will pick and choose who can ask questions if you raise your hands!” She yells back at the crowd. “Please, do not come on stage again, no matter your cultural background!”

The reporters form themselves into a bit more of an orderly fashion, Jack taking his hand off his sword when they settle down. A few hands raise and he picks the first one he sees, the woman lowering her hand.

“Do you plan on staying to contain the situation?” The woman asks. “There's still many sectors that are still under enemy control.”

“Me? I'm not doing anything directly.” Jack replies. “I'm only concerned with the core worlds and those are completely secure.”

“Sir, what are your thoughts on the housing crisis on Serko?” A fox asks.

Jack ignores the man, pointing to a man who had his hand up instead.

“Sianian officials are asking that you make an appearance. Will you be able to appear on public broadcasts this time?” The jackal asks.

“I'll come there if my friend wants me to. Otherwise I'm staying here and coordinating.” The man replies. “Next question.”

A few reporters raise their hands and he points to one toward the back, the feline looking absolutely ecstatic she was picked.

“Will you be able to do an interview with the Kirov and the Emperor?!” She asks with glee, yelling a bit louder than she needs to.

“Uh, sure.” Jack replies. “I'll give you my card.”

He hands the torch off to Vikna and many more hands raise, Vikna choosing another one.

“Are you able to tell us what exactly you do?” The man asks, Vikna looking a bit offended.

“I command a ship, the current forces defending the Tower, and a small fleet protecting it as well.” She replies, crossing her arms. “Any other, less rude questions?”

She chooses a fox who had tried to butt in earlier, directing her attention to him.

“Uh, when will the blockade be lifted? People are projecting that we'll run out of supplies within the month.” He says.

“It'll be lifted when it's lifted.” She replies. “Just be patient.”

2 hours later

Jack and Vikna step back into their bedroom, sighing gently before Jack chuckles.

“God, interviews fucking suck.” He says, laying back against the door. “You still horny? I'm beat.”

“No, I'm beat.” She says, leaning up against him. “Warm~.”

“Soft.” He says in reply, leading the two of them over to the bed before Vikna strips out of her robe first.

“I wanna cuddle.” She tells him. “Have I ever told you I like the feeling of skin? It doesn't get tangled like fur does.”

“Fur gets tangled?” He asks, taking off his dress coat.

“Long fur likes to get tangled in mine.” She says. “It makes cuddling a risky endeavor.”

He nods, taking off his pants as Vikna takes off her shirt, revealing she was wearing one of his t-shirts underneath. She wore it like a dress, the shirt making its way down to her hips as she pulls her pants down as well. She takes off the weird things she calls shoes as well, hopping up onto bed as Jack is still taking off his intricate uniform. When everything is off him as well, he joins her on the bed, the feline latching onto his side as she rubs her face against his chest.

“Do you still have nightmares?” Vikna asks, now resting her head on his chest, unmoving.

“Not really.” Jack replies. “Sometimes I have dreams of you leaving me, but I know you'd never do that.”

“Never.” She says, burying herself into the crook of his neck. “I...sometimes I do. It doesn't hurt me enough to make me wake up crying, but it still hurts.”

“Is there a treatment you can get?” Jack asks.

“There is, but it's only available to...Kirovs...” She says, her head rising off his chest as he looks down at her. “Is your stupidity contagious?”

“My severe lack of IQ tends to sap it away from others.” Jack replies jokingly, seeing Vikna's ears fold back. “It's a joke! I can't do anything like that.”

“That's not funny!” She yells with a laugh. “I'm not laughing at your joke!”

He pulls her into a hug as her laugh winds down, the blue and white feline sighing contently.

“I keep forgetting.” She says, feeling him let her go. “I've been a Kavkor for so long, calling myself a Kirov always seems so wrong.”

“Same here. I was a Staff Sergeant for so long, makes me feel weird calling myself a First Sergeant.” He tells her, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. “Makes me feel more important than I actually am.”

“You're important to me.” She tells him, resting her chin on his. “Do you think I should go through with it?”

“What are the risks?” Jack asks.

“None that I can recall outside of changes in personality. Most of the time it's for the better.” She says. “You were the only person they said they might've had trouble with, due to how badly traumatized you were and how your brain was wired.”

“I feel better as a person for overcoming it my own way.” He says. “In about seven days, one of us is going to need to go back and watch over Franklin.”

“What about Tim?” She asks.

“Franklin doesn't like Tim. He says Tim's wife is mean to him and Tim can't do anything about it.” Jack replies. “She was opposed to the whole idea from the beginning and she barely tolerates Tim, so you can imagine how she felt about Franklin.”

“I knew she was a fucking bitch.” Vikna says, looking off to the side. “I'll have to have a nice chat with her when we get home.”

“So, who's going to be staying home?” He asks.

“We both are. Once that interview with the Emperor comes up, I'm leaving everything up to my dad.” She says. “I don't want to come back here until Franklin's eighteen.”

“What about when he turns thirteen?” Jack asks.

“I changed my mind.” She replies. “I was just feeling a bit pent up that day. How's his principal? I heard he's a prick.”

“He pissed me off so god damn much.” Jack says, gripping her fur as she taps his shoulder, the man loosening his grip. “I threatened to throw his desk and himself out the window if he didn't resolve the issue. Prick said he was former Delta Force.”

“Oh.” She says. “I see.”

She pushes her head back into the crook of his neck, purring gently as any residual anger he had melts away, the small feline running her tail down his leg. His eyes close shortly after, the man finally giving in to sleep after a very long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now. Chapter 5 and 6 are pretty much done, but I'd rather wait until I finish chapter 7 before I post here. I still have to do a lot of fine tuning to the story still, as what you see here was not the product I had 2 days ago. Thanks for being patient. Story will be concluded the next time I post story bits, so stay tuned!


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